Wurlitzer Organ Trust
Of
Hollywood Theatre,
Avondale,
The Unit Orchestra In
The “Land Of The Long White Cloud”
A Look At The Theatre
Pipe Organ In
R. Jelani Eddington[1]
(reprinted with permission of author)
Located in the far
reaches of the
More
recently, this “Middle Earth” has become the focus of much international
attention due not only to the enormous popularity of the Lord Of The Rings film series, but also to prestigious
international events such as the America’s
Cup yacht race that twice took place in Auckland’s beautiful harbor. Accordingly, it seemed an appropriate time to
take a look into the history of the theatre organ in this South Pacific island
paradise.
Despite its
relatively small population of under 4 million inhabitants,
3/14 Wurlitzer, Opus 1475 – Hollywood
Theatre, Avondale,
Not surprisingly, the
center of gravity of theatre organ activity in
The installation of
the instrument was not completed in time for the official opening of the
theatre in December 1926, and the organ was not heard publicly until February
1927 in a dedicatory concert played by American organist Eddie Horton. The theatre engaged Mr. Horton as house
organist for the next year, followed by Australian organist Knight
Barnett. As was often the case, the advent
of the “talking” pictures in the 1930s temporarily silenced the instrument, and
it was very rarely heard in public.
Additionally, with the arrival of the much larger Wurlitzer Style 260
“Special” at the Civic Theatre only a few doors up the street from the Regent (see below), the novelty of the Regent
Wurlitzer all but vanished.
After
sitting virtually unplayed and unheard for several
years, the instrument was offered for sale in 1944, and the parents and pupils
of Hutt Valley High School, located in a dormitory
suburb of New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, purchased the
instrument. The organ was installed in
the school’s assembly hall where it became a feature of the music department
and played for various school functions for many years. Sadly, in 1968 a deadly tropical cyclone
struck the area which, at its apex, blew apart a portion of the roof of the
school hall, exposing the instrument to torrential rains and wind. (In fact, this same storm was responsible for
the sinking of an inter-island ferry, the Wahine, at the entrance to
Due to the
significant damage to the Wurlitzer, the school considered the instrument to be
unplayable and sold it to
The instrument was repaired
and painstakingly rebuilt under the direction of John Parker. Because the Hollywood Theatre was used
exclusively for motion pictures, it was possible for the instrument to be
installed in three chambers (
In addition to the
original eight Model F ranks (Tuba Horn, Open Diapason, Tibia Clausa, Violin & Celeste, Clarinet, Vox Humana, and
Concert Flute), four more ranks were added, including a Solo String, Tromba, and a “pseudo” Kinura and Post Horn. Mr. Anderson retained the organ’s original
toy counter and percussions before the instrument was returned to
The installation and
restoration of the instrument was completed in late 1982, and November of that
year saw the re-inaugural concert with Australian organists Tony Fenelon and Margaret Hall at the console. Following this gala re-opening of the
instrument, the Hollywood Wurlitzer was used very regularly and could be heard
in as many as eight public concerts each year.
In
1993, Mr. Stenerson announced his intention to sell
the Wurlitzer, and with the spectre of the instrument
being sold for parts overseas, a group of eight enthusiasts formed the
Wurlitzer Organ Trust Of Auckland (WOTA) – a charitable trust that purchased
the instrument from Mr. Stenerson and assumed
responsibility for its preservation and maintenance. Once the Trust was established, the first
priority was to focus on the condition of the instrument. Since 1984, the instrument had been a very active
organ with 6-8 concerts each year and was in need of refurbishment and
upgrading.
The first phase of
the renovation included locating a full set of percussions to replace those
loaned by Mr. Woolf.
With the assistance of Russ Evans from
The second phase of
the restoration came with the rebuilding of the console, as the organ had literally
outgrown its original two-manual console.
To this end, and again with the assistance of Russ Evans, a three-manual
Style 235 Wurlitzer console was located, originally from Opus 1256 that had
been shipped to Loew’s Theatre in
In
May 1998, the newly refurbished console and relay arrived in
Since that time, the
Hollywood Wurlitzer has become a focal point of theatre organ activity in
3/16 Wurlitzer Style 260 Special, Opus
2075,
The
largest, but last theatre organ to arrive in
The main musical
feature of the theatre was, of course, Wurlitzer’s Opus 2075, a 3-manual
16-rank Style 260 “Special” which, as it was once remarked, rose from the
depths “with a roar that made the marrow dance in one’s bones.” The organ was installed in chambers under the
stage floor, and the Piano, Chimes, Xylophone and Marimba Harp were installed
in small opera-style boxes on either side of the auditorium, clearly visible to
theatre patrons.
The console was
mounted on a so-called “worm-drive” turntable lift that is believed to be one
of the highest organ lifts in the entire world.
Resting at the foot of a large well, the console lift had to rise an
entire 20 feet before coming into view of the patrons. The spiral then ascended another 17 feet
before the audience in the seats of the Grand Mezzanine could see the organist,
who then entertained theatre patrons from a dizzying height of 37 feet!
Unfortunately,
only one professional recording was ever made on this organ during its tenure
at the Civic Theatre—a 78-rpm album recorded in 1951 by then house organist Denis
Palmistra. In
the late 1960s, the company that owned the Civic Theatre decided that the Wintergarden Ballroom that formed the Civic’s
lower floor area was to be turned into a small cinema, and the Wurlitzer was
viewed as being in the way of this “progress.”
Sadly, in March 1968, house organist at the time Ron Boyce played the
console into the pit during a farewell concert with the Mäori
love song, Pakarekareana. Shortly thereafter, the instrument was
offered for sale, and a deal was struck with Australian interests. Complications arose, however, relating to the
deadline for the instrument’s removal, so the organ was once again on the
market. Ultimately, the instrument was
purchased by Sir Len Southward – a Wellington-based entrepreneur and collector
of antique cars. Due to the theatre’s
schedule, it was of the utmost importance that the Wurlitzer be removed by the
end of February 1969.
In late February 1969,
and right on schedule, the instrument was removed and shipped to Sir Len’s
factory in
Since
that time, like its counterpart at the Hollywood Theatre in
2/10 Wurlitzer Model H Opus 1482, Baycourt Theatre, Tauranga
Just
one week after the Regent Theatre Wurlitzer had been shipped from the factory
in North Tonowanda, Wurlitzer’s slightly larger 2-manual
10-rank Model H Opus 1482 left the United States bound for New Zealand, albeit
this time for the capital city of Wellington and the De Luxe
Theatre situated at the end of Courtney Place (a beautiful large shopping and
café district in the city center). The
organ made its debut in 1927 with
Organists, both local
and international, appeared at this instrument, often performing as part of a
circuit with other instruments located throughout
The Tauranga City Council suggested that the organ could be
relocated in the newly-constructed Baycourt Entertainment
Centre—a beautiful performing arts facility located behind the Town Hall. The Tauranga
Theatre Organ Society (formerly the Tauranga 20,000
Club) accepted the Council’s offer. By
the middle of 1987, the arduous task of dismantling and re-installing the
instrument began, and by late 1988, Opus 1482 was playing once again. Dennis James traveled from the
As
might be expected, and like its counterpart at the Hollywood Theatre, due to
the heavy use that this instrument received over the years, the organ was in
need of refurbishment and repair. As
such, in 2001 the Tauranga Theatre Organ Society
embarked on an ambitious program under the direction of John Parker and Melbourne
organist Scott Harrison to improve the playing condition of the instrument. Wind pressures were reset, and rewinding done
to improve tremulant performance. Over a period of three years, the five reed
ranks were shipped to John Parker’s
With the organ now
sounding possibly its best ever, the instrument has been drawing record
audiences to concerts and is proving a worthy asset, both to the Baycourt Entertainment Centre and to the city of
2/10 Christie Model 2714 – Empire
Theatre,
The
2-manual 10-rank Christie Model 2714 was the only instrument built by the
English firm Christie (a division of Hill, Norman & Beard) that made its
way to
In 1952, Australian
organist Penn Hughes purchased the instrument and installed the console and
some of the pipework in his residence in Bexley, Sydney. When
Mr. Hughes decided to enlarge the instrument to four manuals, this two-manual
console became redundant, and was acquired by the Queensland Division of the
Theatre Organ Society of Australia (TOSA).
TOSA enlarged the console to accommodate a third manual, and installed
the modified console to control the Christie organ at Kelvin Grove State
College in
2/4 Style 135B Wurlitzer Piano-Console
Organ – Cozy Theatre, Masterton
In
addition to the larger instruments discussed above, there were two Wurlitzer piano-console
organs and one photoplayer shipped to
The instrument,
originally equipped with a roll playing mechanism which operated the pipes and
the piano, was used in Masterton until the late 1930s
when it was removed and purchased by Mr. John Holden who installed it in his
residence in
In 1978, this
instrument was moved from
2/6 Wurlitzer Style 160 Special, Piano-Console
Organ, Opus 1748 – New Paramount Theatre, Nelson
Another
piano-console instrument that made its way onto
This
wonderful instrument is the first to be installed in the
The
instrument has two manuals or key boards and also a pedal board. There are a large number of orchestral stops representing
the following instruments: Flute, violin, cellos, horns, vox humana, mirimba [sic], xylophone, orchestral bells, cathedral chimes, piano mandolin, snaer [sic] drum,
tom-tom, castanets, tambourine, timpani [sic], bass drum,
cymbals, crash cymbals, triangle. There
is also an assortment of picture effects contained in the organ.
It
would be impossible to demonstrate its capabilities and ever changing
combinations without having heard some of the many tunes.
Unfortunately,
little is known about this instrument in its original home. By all reports, however, somewhere around
1933, the instrument was moved to the Paramount Theatre,
The instrument
survived at the Paramount Theatre in Wellington for only a few years, and in March
of 1938 the instrument was sold to the All Saints Church in Kilbirnie
(a Wellington suburb), where it remained until the mid 1980s, when it was
purchased by Mr. Michael Woolf for use as his
residence organ.
2/3 Wurlitzer Photoplayer,
The Strand Theatre,
In around 1916,
the first Wurlitzer to find its way to
Some years
later, an
Where Are We Today?
While much
international attention has been focused on activity in the
|
Original Instrument |
Original Venue |
Current Venue |
Remarks |
|
2/8 Model F Wurlitzer Op. 1475 |
Regent Theatre, |
Hollywood Theatre, |
Now 3/14 Wurlitzer, with plans to add an Orchestral Oboe. Original
console and relay in Woolf Residence, |
|
3/16 Style 260SP Wurlitzer Op. 2075 |
Civic Theatre, |
|
|
|
2/10 Model H Wurlitzer Op. 1482 |
De Luxe (Embassy) Theatre, |
Baycourt Theatre, Tauranga |
Plans underway to add a Trumpet |
|
2/10 Christie Model 2714 |
Empire Theatre, |
Three ranks playing at Capri Theatre, |
|
|
2/4 Style 135B Wurlitzer Piano-Console Organ |
Cozy Theatre, Masterton |
Hollywood Theatre, |
Only piano action remains and plays manually or from Hollywood
Wurlitzer console. |
|
2/6 Style 160SP Wurlitzer Piano-Console Organ, Op. 1748 |
New Paramount Theatre, Nelson |
Woolf Residence, |
Restoration ongoing |
|
2/3 Wurlitzer Photoplayer |
Strand Theatre, |
Whittaker’s |
In storage awaiting restoration |
** Special thanks to
the Wurlitzer Organ Trust of Auckland, James Duncan, John Parker, Mat Matthew,
Scott Harrison, and Norm Freeman for their invaluable assistance in the
preparation of this article.