St Patrick’s historic pipe organ’s fate rests with tower block as church cries poor

A heritage-listed pipe organ, believed to be the oldest made in Queensland, has been hidden away from the public because a Brisbane Catholic parish can’t afford a whopping $500,000 bill to mend it.

An artist’s impression of an office block to be built next to the historic St Patrick’s Church where the parish is struggling to pay to refurbish the church and the 141-year-old pipe organ.

A heritage-listed pipe organ, believed to be the one of the oldest built in Queensland, has been hidden away from the public because a Brisbane Catholic parish can’t afford a whopping $500,000 bill to mend it.

St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Fortitude Valley has been home to the 2.5m organ since it was built in 1882.

But the whopping repair bill has prevented the parish from using the broken instrument and it has been stashed away at the back of the heritage-listed church since 2014.

Under Canon law, the church is prevented from shuffling funds from region to region, forcing the small inner-city parish to secret away the 141-year-old organ until it gets a revenue stream from an eight-storey office tower it is building on neighbouring land.

Dean of St Patrick’s parish Fr Anthony Mellor said the office block would ensure the parish could restore the church and the organ, work he expected to cost “several million dollars”.

“We want to preserve this church and the organ for future generations,” he said.

“This will require a significant investment from the parish but it’s something that we will do according to heritage guidelines.

“The driving force behind this project is the need to ensure the parish can financially support the church.”

The disused pipe organ in St Patrick’s at Fortitude Valley. PHOTO: Trevor Bunning (September 2014)

Although Brisbane City Council has approved plans for the high rise block, the church is yet to find a commercial partner and tenant for the new building.

Until a construction partner has been found, the organ and the historic St Patrick’s will be left in disrepair.

The parish also has to pay to maintain Brisbane’s historic Cathedral of St Stephen.

St Stephen’s Cathedral director of music Christopher Trikilis said the pipe organ would have to be dismantled and sent to specialists in Melbourne — the first time it would have been out of St Patrick’s in 140 years.

Organist Greg Hartay-Szabo, who has played the organ at St Patrick’s, said both church and organ were in dire need of immediate refurbishment.

Until then, the parish would make do with a second-hand organ from St Stephen’s.

Professional organist Greg Hartay-Szabo, who has played the organ at St Patrick’s, said both church and organ were in dire need of immediate refurbishment.

“It’s ironic that the saviour here is the revenue which will be generated from a new office block which will tower over the church,” he said.

“It is a huge shame that the organ has been left to deteriorate for so many years and now the cost to repair it is into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

He said the replacement organ was sited downstairs, unlike a more traditional pipe organ which the organist plays from an upstairs gallery.

“This is part of Queensland heritage and it’s a disgrace that it is not fixed and preserved immediately rather than waiting for a commercial construction deal to occur.”

The organ, which is classified by the National Trust, was built by London-born Thomas C. Christmas and pre-dates the iconic Brisbane City Hall organ, which was built in 1892 and not installed in its current location until 1929.

An ad from the Queensland (Wise’s) Official Directory 1896-1897. Photo: courtesy of

It was installed at St Patrick’s when the stone Gothic-styled church was consecrated by Archbishop Robert Dunne in 1882 and cost £6000 to build.

Christmas’s original handiwork in Australian red cedar, pine and imported oak, remains largely intact but also needs restoration.

The parish is preparing a tax-deductible restoration appeal to assist the funding of the organ works.