Mechanical Music Digest  Archives
You Are Not Logged In Login/Get New Account
Please Log In. Accounts are free!
Logged In users are granted additional features including a more current version of the Archives and a simplified process for submitting articles.
Home Archives Calendar Gallery Store Links Info

Spring Fundraising Drive In Progress. Please visit our home page to see this and other announcements: https://www.mmdigest.com     Thank you. --Jody

MMD > Archives > February 1999 > 1999.02.15 > 03Prev  Next


Verbeeck Street Organ "Australia Fair"
By A. B. Bonds

Having conquered most of my jet lag, I found the info sheet on Australia
Fair, the 74-key Verbeeck street organ spied in Hobart, Tasmania.  It
was completed in late 1992 and has 442 pipes.  It rides on a trailer, is
4 m high x 6 m wide x 1.5 m deep and weighs 2.5 ton(ne)s.  In addition
to pipes has 24-note glock, snare, cymbal, wood block and bass drum.
The ranks include:

  Melody:  Violin, bourdon flute, harmonic flute, undamaris,
    trumpet, mixture and glockenspiel
  Counter melody: Celeste, cello, bass cello, baritone
  Accompaniment:  Bourdon, flute, violin, cello
  Bass:  16', 8', 8' violine, 16' trombone

Except for one rank of trumpets, all pipes are wooden.

The elaborately decorated case was erected in Australia.  It has two
lady "conductors" whose batons ring bells.  The approximate cost was
200,000 USD.

The owner has pulled this wonderful artifact all over Australia over the
past seven years, averaging 30,000 km per year.

There are five CD's/tapes available, with music of all sorts appropriate
to a proper street organ.  I have listened to two of them, and they are
quite well recorded, though the tempo of disk 1 ("In the Mood", big band
stuff for the most part) seems a bit breathless.

Contact is

  Organ on the Move,
  47 Cowles Road,
  Mosman 2088 Australia,
  tel: (02) 9969 7462, fax: (02) 9969 4201.
  E-mail: streetorgan@ozemail.com.au

A. B. Bonds


(Message sent Mon 15 Feb 1999, 15:47:02 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.)

Key Words in Subject:  Australia, Fair, Organ, Street, Verbeeck

Home    Archives    Calendar    Gallery    Store    Links    Info   


Enter text below to search the MMD Website with Google



CONTACT FORM: Click HERE to write to the editor, or to post a message about Mechanical Musical Instruments to the MMD

Unless otherwise noted, all opinions are those of the individual authors and may not represent those of the editors. Compilation copyright 1995-2024 by Jody Kravitz.

Please read our Republication Policy before copying information from or creating links to this web site.

Click HERE to contact the webmaster regarding problems with the website.

Please support publication of the MMD by donating online

Please Support Publication of the MMD with your Generous Donation

Pay via PayPal

No PayPal account required

                                     
Translate This Page