One of the outstanding features of St Mary’s Cathedral is its major pipe organ, usually referred to as ‘the Dodd organ.’ Cathedral music director Jacinta Jakovcevic reflects on the difference its installation in 1910 made to the musical culture of Perth – religious and secular – at the time.
The mighty Dodd Organ in St Mary’s Cathedral at Victoria Square in the heart of Perth’s central business district was built in 1910 by J E Dodd, just 81 years after the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829.
From its establishment until the Goldrush of the 1890s, Perth’s population grew slowly.
But the sudden influx of those attracted by the possibilities of wealth saw the population of Perth grow in spectacular fashion, quadrupling between 1891 and 1901 to just over 27,000 people.
By 1915 the figure was over 120,000 and Perth was transformed, a process which was also accompanied by developments in infrastructure, transport and the establishment of the state’s first university, the University of Western Australia.
The number of pipe organs in the City of Perth prior to 1890 was only three, but as more churches and theatres were built this number more than doubled by 1908. Subsequently, pipe organs were built in many areas of Perth.
Prior to 1908, most of these were imported and built by notable English builders, among them Bishop and Son (Wesley Church, 1875) and Hill and Son (St George’s Cathedral, 1875).
One local builder, Robert Cecil Clifton, also built two city instruments – one for his own residence and one for St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (in St George’s Tce).
It would appear that all these instruments were generally of a romantic style and were of small to medium size.
One article in the press of the day mentioned that 12 years earlier in 1898 the organs of Perth were “in a parlous state.” It continued by adding that J.E. Dodd was “the magician who has worked this change.”
Josiah Eustace Dodd was born in Richmond, Victoria, in 1856 and trained by the legendary George Fincham. Dodd was one of a number of apprentices trained by Fincham who became succesful Australian builders in their own right.
These included Arthur Hobday (the builder of the Chancel Organ in St Mary’s) Frederick Taylor and J.W. Slatterie. Dodd began working with Fincham at the age of 13 as an apprentice and at the age of 25 Fincham appointed him manager of the Adelaide branch of his firm.
However, the onset of a recession resulted in a decline in business and only ten organs were produced from the Adelaide branch. Due to this, Fincham sold the branch to Dodd in 1894.
Dodd then re-opened it as his own firm; ‘J.E. Dodd’, establishing the beginnings of one of the most successful organ building firms in Australia and one of the first to be able to call itself truly ‘Australian’.
By 1903, Dodd had already built 16 organs in South Australia and re-built and enlarged many others.
With the growing population and economic prosperity of the rapidly expanding City of Perth he saw an opportunity to expand his business particularly since, apart from Robert Cecil Clifton, there were no other local organ-builders at work in Perth.
Dodd’s first commission in Perth was the rebuilding of the Hill organ in St George’s Cathedral in 1903.
By then, the instrument was almost 30 years old and appears to have been of relatively modest proportions.
Dodd’s rebuild involved extensive additions, including a Phonon Diapason: the only one in Perth at the time.
Dodd’s work on this project was highly successful and brought him to the attention of the wider Perth community.
Later that year he opened a branch of his firm in Hay Street. Soon after, he was awarded several other commissions: the building of a new organ for St Matthew’s Church in Guildford (1905), St Brigid’s Catholic Church in West Perth (1906) and a new organ for Wesley Church in Perth in 1907 (completed in 1908).
This was then the largest organ in Perth and proved to be a very successful project. In addition to organ building and maintenance, Dodd also continued with the tuning of pianos.
The excellent quality of his work earned him a reputation as a first rate organ builder and technician.
This great success of his work eventually secured him another important commission: that of building a new organ for Perth’s Catholic Cathedral.
In 1908, St Mary‘s Cathedral was the only city church not to have a pipe organ – this may, perhaps, be due to the fact that the Catholic liturgy was based primarily on chant and the liturgical emphasis was on antiphons rather than hymns.
However, this was the age of the rise of the symphonic orchestra and more instrumental music was being used in the Church. Wonderful symphonic style instruments, by the standards of the day, were being built by European organ builders.
One could speculate that with continental Europeans such as Bishop Joseph Benedict Serra (1810-1886) and then Bishop Martin Griver (1814-1886) at the helm of the Church in Perth, their influence may have encouraged more instrumental music in liturgical settings.
Bishop Matthew Gibney (1835-1925), their successor, was a man of action and was keen to establish and build up many aspects of the Diocese (the Cathedral’s own facade and belfry underwent extensive renovation in 1905).
By this time, the Cathedral’s music program was not only developing but winning considerable recognition for its standards in the City of Perth. Among its repertoire were some of Perth’s foremost vocal soloists and prominent musicians of the day.
In this climate of growth and development of the Cathedral and the City, the decision was made to build a pipe organ.
Three Australian organ builders were asked to submit proposals for the new instrument: Charles Richardson, George Fincham and J E Dodd.
The Richardson proposal was discounted early on but the Dodd and Fincham proposals were closely studied and debated.
Both specifications were smaller than other Cathedral organs in Australia at the time (notably Sydney and Melbourne).
However, Dodd included additional stops in his proposal which he called ‘Suggestions.’
These would increase the size of his instrument considerably and make it comparable to a ‘Cathedral-sized’ organ.
With these, Dodd’s proposed instrument would be comparable to contemporary organs already installed at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral and Sydney’s St Mary’s.
The consultant chosen for the cathedral project in Perth was Herbert Joseph Eales (1864-1957), a well-known organist and architect originally from England.
It is evident from his correspondences that he and the Cathedral clergy were taken with Dodd’s proposal for an instrument with large, orchestral sonorities and a wide array of the latest accessories which enabled orchestral effects.
These included a melody coupler, sforzato pedals, ‘Button Registration Indicators’ and sforzando indicators.
Eales described these as “the very latest improvements that human ingenuity can devise” and described Dodd’s work as being “of the very best quality and equal to anything in the world.”
And so it was that St Mary’s new organ was proudly and officially blessed and dedicated on May 29th, 1910 to acclaim from both the musical community and the general public of Perth.
Its presence allowed the Cathedral’s music program to flourish, with orchestral masses, recitals and concerts taking place.
The Dodd Organ was now the largest in Perth. The West Australian newspaper commented that: “[Dodd] has built some of the most favourably known organs in the Commonwealth and this his latest achievement – the Roman Catholic organ – ranks amongst his very best work … the front case is of striking and imposing design … viewed from the floor of the Cathedral is very imposing.
The Cyclopedia of Western Australia, the authority on WA prior to World War I, underscored the impression the Dodd organ had made: “Mr Eales presided over the finest organ built in the state viz. for the Roman Catholic Cathedral at Perth.”
Following his success, Dodd’s firm continued its work in Perth installing new organs and rebuilding and enlarging many others.
His influence in Perth became wide-reaching to the point where there were eventually many more organs built and rebuilt by Dodd in Perth than there were imported ones.
The Dodd firm, which later became JE Dodd Gunstar Organ Works, continued for many years, interrupted only by two World Wars and in 1963 was commissioned to rebuild the 1910 original.
The arrival of Dodd in Perth can be seen as a defining step in the establishment of the organ-building industry in Western Australia.
A firm, prosperous culture of organ building and maintenance was established, pioneering the way for other WA builders, including Paul Huffner and F J Larner, to contribute to the Australian organ building industry.