A Little Gem from St Paul’s

Dale Kerber has played the pipe organ at St Paul’s church since 1988, this was when she moved to Bridgetown after being appointed as a teacher at the High School.

When arriving in Bridgetown Dale was of the Lutheran religion, but with no Lutheran church here she then attended St Paul’s an Anglican church, which had a pipe organ.

Dale tells her story about the organ, “I was pleasantly surprised to find a pipe organ in Bridgetown. It has an electric blower so it starts immediately. The pipes are enclosed in a box to maintain an even temperature which gives a constant note.

“The box has shutters around it that can be opened to increase the volume of the organ. The keys have electric switches which open and close the values on the pipes.

“The organ has wooden pipes and metal pipes; the wooden pipes have a mellow sound and are played by a Diapson Stop. The metal pipes have a Flute sound stop, the shorter the pipes the higher pitch the sound, longer the pipes the lower the notes.

“The organ is so well built and designed it requires little maintenance, it is tuned around once every five years or so.

“The most surprising feature of this organ, for me, is that the organ was built by Paul Hufner, my father. I had no idea this was the case, discovering the link much later.

“My father was piano tuner and organ builder and worked building and tuning organs around Perth up to the year 2000.

“He had built the console and the wooden pipes and used imported metal pipes in the organ at St Paul’s.

“The organ was first situated in a church in South Perth, my father moved it to Bridgetown in 1976.

“Mr Harry Moyes was the person who negotiated with my father to have the organ moved here.

“Harry was quite chuffed to learn I was the organ builder’s daughter, playing on an organ which was built by my father .

“Harry always thought of the organ music as something special. At the end of the service as the parishioners were leaving the church he would come up to the organ and I would play a tune for him so he could sing a hymn for his own pleasure.

“It seemed to always make his day.”

A little gem of a story St Paul’s has given up.