It was music to the congregation’s ears when Stanthorpe’s only pipe organ, which had been sitting silent and in need of some expensive maintenance, was brought back to glorious life in time for an important occasion within the Stanthorpe Anglican Parish.
On Saturday 20 January the organ’s wonderful breath filled the air in the St Paul’s Anglican Church for the installation of the new minister, Rev Matthew Skelton. Matt and his wife, Ellie, a doctor, and two sons are now settling into the Stanthorpe community.
Fundraising had started to raise money for the organ, as the repair bill was going to be huge, and a concert by Southern Cross Soloists helped begin the process in November. But it was a single benefactor – who didn’t want to be named or have his praises sung – who provided the bulk of the money for the restoration, which included repairing the casings of the bellows that had been chewed by rodents.
The pipe organ has been a joy to the community for 60 years. It was originally built by an amateur organ builder from Toowoomba in the 1950s and was brought to Stanthorpe in 1964.
