The Friends of the Hill & Son Grand Organ aims to raise public awareness of this historic 19th century grand concert pipe organ once installed in Adelaide Town Hall and which has been located in Tanunda since the 1990s and contribute to its ongoing use. The group also meet regularly for concerts at organ venues around the Barossa Valley, South Australia.
The Hill & Son Grand Organ is housed in the Barossa Regional Gallery, part of the Tanunda Soldiers Memorial Hall complex.
The Hill & Son Grand Organ was built by the distinguished firm of Hill & Son, London, for Adelaide Town Hall where it was opened to the public in 1877. The Adelaide organ was enlarged in 1885 and much was rebuilt and altered in 1970. In 1989 it was replaced by a new organ and removed from the Adelaide Town Hall being placed in storage, its fate uncertain.
It was restored by the Organ Historical Trust of Australia (OHTA) taking more than 15 years to complete using the expertise of lifelong professional master organ builder George Stephens.
Every Wednesday 11.30am-12noon you can tour the inner workings of the organ, hear a short talk on its history and taste the sounds of the Grand Organ in a demonstration.