The concert hall where the instrument was located was to undergo earthquake strengthening and there was to be an upgrade and rebuild of facilities around the school. As part of the upgrade there was to be a passage built at stage floor level behind the tiered stage
The concert hall where the instrument was located was to undergo earthquake strengthening and there was to be an upgrade and rebuild of facilities around the school. As part of the upgrade there was to be a passage built at stage floor level behind the tiered stage, which meant that the floor under the back half of the pipe organ would be raised 400mm.
The organ was to be removed, restored and reinstalled in the hall in time for the hall opening. The organ consultant Douglas Mews recommended a heritage restoration of the instrument, which was in unison with the wishes of the Board. (The option of adding a Great and Pedal Trumpet/Trombone rank in screened cabinets either side of the organ was declined on aesthetic ground by the Heritage Architect.)
The project contained several challenges:
* Removing the instrument and safely transporting it to and from the workshop in Timaru;
* Assessing the space requirements for both the instrument, and the space requirements for the under stage passageway required careful measuring and rerouting of winding systems and blower location, and consultation with the architects, especially as the largest pipes were located along the side of the instrument and reached ceiling height;
* Reconstructing an in-built console and laying out the requirements for a digital transmission system with modern playing aids;
* Reconstructing the original tonal scheme (including the three additions saved from the 1974 rebuild);
* Re-erecting the instrument while the hall and other buildings were still a building site.
The instrument was built by the London firm of Norman & Beard, and financed largely by a £2,000 donation of local philanthropist Thomas Cawthron. Installed in 1913, it was a three manual and pedal, pneumatic action instrument of 29 stops. Alterations over the years had included adding an electric blower to the winding system, converting the action to electro-pneumatic from pneumatic, a movable detached console in place of the inbuilt console, and tonal alterations where some pipes were altered and moved in the instrument and others removed and different pipes added.
Since the 1974 tonal alterations had been done by SIOC, there was enough documentation in the company archives to identify the original tonal scheme and with the assistance of the British Organ Archives, some original drawings were sourced which showed enough detail to reconstruct the layout of the console. The new console made use some of the previous high quality fittings such as the ivory keyboards and original pedalboard.
With the organ dismantled and in the factory, a mock-up of the ne