Welcome to the official website of the

AUSTRALIA FAIR

Grand Concert Street Organ!

Australia Fair was built in Belgium by the master Organ Builder John Verbeeck.

Verbeeck's Organ Works (founded in 1884) is acknowledged to be the best of the old mechanical organ workshops and John, as a fourth generation craftsman, is without doubt the finest contemporary exponent of the art.

The painting and gilding of the ornately carved facade were carried out by decorative artist Geoff Tyres in his Sydney workshop. Using colours drawn from the Australian landscape and the richness of gold leaf, Mr Tyers has made the organ as outstanding visually as it is musically.

Australia Fair has 442 pipes creating various instrumental effects and, with a glockenspiel and an extensive percussion section, the sound is equal to a twenty piece orchestra. Construction is traditional in every respect; the organ is entirely mechanical and air driven. The music books from which the organ plays are hand made especially for this organ - they are laminated cardboard and are expected to last for at least eighty years.

Australia Fair was designed and built to ensure that it will be able to travel the country delighting audiences of all ages for a great many years to come and to eventually take its place in the folk history of Australia.

Australia Fair Grand Concert Street Organ is available for hire! Please click here for details!

For the technically minded here are some specifications:

Dimensions: 4m high x 6m wide x 1.5m deep

Weight: 2.5 tonnes

Instrumentation: 442 pipes, 24 note glockenspiel, snare drum, cymbal, wood block, bass drum

Ranks of pipes:

Melody: Violin, Bourdon Flute, Harmonic Flute, Undermaris, Trumpet, Mixture, Glockenspiel

Counter Melody: Celeste, Cello, Bass Cello, Baritone

Accompaniment: Bourdon Flute, Violin, Cello

Bass: 16' Bass, 8' Bass, 8' Violone, 16' Trombone