THE GRAND ORGAN OF SYDNEY

The Grand Organ in the Sydney Opera House has six divisions, five manuals plus pedals, and is the largest tracker action organ ever built, with 131 speaking stops served by 200 ranks of pipes consisting of 10,244. It also took 10 years to build. It was budgeted for $400000 but ended up costing $1.2 million. It also has the ability to be played remotely by an electronic system, enabling it to be played from a remote console. This incredible organ was conceived and constructed in a small factory in Mortdale, Sydney. During construction the organ builder refused pleas to cut his organ design in half so the Opera House ceiling could be lowered! If it wasn’t for him, the Opera House would look very different today. FUN FACT. First students to play the organ were Peter Mate and John Loadsman, year 8, from St Joseph’s College.

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