Opening of Dunedin's Town Hall

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 30, 7 February 1930, Page 7

Opening of Dunedin's Town Hall

To Be Relayed Through 4YA

HE official opening ceremony in connection with Dunedin’s new Town Hall and its magnificent organ will take place on Saturday, February 15. The celebrations will continue the following week and will be broadcast by both 4YA and 8YA. The occasion is an epoch-marking one in the history of Dunedin. The complete block of new buildings occupies a space 222 feet long by 128 feet wide and the edifice is a credit to the city. The contract price was £86,041 and the work has taken three years to complete. The total seating capacity of the main hall is 8000. The architects felt that a hall of this size would probably appear rather cold and formal if finished in the usual manner, particularly on such occasions when it was not filled to capacity. They have, therefore, in conjunction with the decorators, devised a scheme of decoration which has the effect of giving a warm and comfortable glow throughout the whole interior, and this appearance is further enhanced when illuminated with the electric lighting. The soft terracotta shades of the ceilings, the richness of the panelling and parquetry flooring of the platform and brown upholstering on the seating all combine in giving the interior this effect. The concert hall has seating accommodation for 900. The building of the Town Hall was financed on a scheme outlined by the Town Clerk (Mr. G. A. Lewin) and it is tantamount to being a gift to the city from the city trading departments, which are profitable concerns. Wembley Exhibition Organ. J NSTALLED in the Town Hall is the finest organ in Australasia. It cost £30,000 and was a gift to the city. The organ is the one that was built for the Wembley Exhibition, adapted to the Town Hall, with alterations and additions to the tonal construction. It is now an entirely modern organ. It occupies a floor space of 7000 square feet and is built on three levels, rising to a height of 50 feet. There are approximately 1500 miles of wire used in the electrical actions and 18,000 contacts and soldered connections. There are roughly 3500 pipes, the largest being 88 feet in length and weighing half a ton. The whole organ from keyboard to pipe is operated electrically, which means that the only connection between the console and the organ is an electric cable containing some hundreds of wires but only about two inches in diameter. In the olden days every connection between key and organ was mechanical, and it can be safely left to the imagination to picture the complications and amount of space such an action involved. Opening Ceremonial. THE official opening will be impressively carried out. From 7.30 to 7.50, Dr. W. G. Price (Mus. Doc.) will give an organ recital. At 8 o’clock a procession consisting of the Mayor, Town Clerk, Councillors, Past Mayors of the City, the architects and the builders, will be formed in the main foyer and march to the stage. The programme to be carried through will be:1. National Anthem (arranged by Sir Edward Elgar for chorus, soprano solo, orchestra and organ). Soloist: Miss Meda Paine. Conductor: Dr. V. E. Galway. 2. Address by His Worship the Mayor (R. S. Black, Esq.). 8. Festival "Te Deum." Chorus, orchestra of stringed instruments, brass and organ. Conductor: Dr. V. E. Galway. 4. Vote of thanks to the donors of the organ. Cr. H. L. Tapley, C.M.G. 5. Organ Solo 2... ccc ence cc ces etcevevceces Dr. W. G. Price 6. Vote of thanks to the Bristol Piano Co. and Messrs. Charles Begg and Co., Ltd., for gifts of Concert Grand Pianos for Main Hall and Concert Chamber....Cr. J. J. Clark. 7. Chorus........"Worthy is the Lamb" and "Amen" (Handel) Conductor: Dr. V. E. Galway. 8. National Anthem. Note.-Brass instrumests in Sullivan’s "Te Deum" played by members of the St. Kilda Band. Conductor: Mr. J. Dixon.