Founded | May 1977 |
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Type | National peak body for pipe organ preservation and conservation |
Location |
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Area served | Australia, New Zealand |
Key people | Steve Kaesler OAM (Chairman)[1] |
Website | www |
The Organ Historical Trust of Australia (OHTA) is a national organisation which works towards:
OHTA's establishment in 1977 took place in response to a period following World War II when several significant organs in Australia were either destroyed completely (for example, the Grand Organ erected in 1880 by George Fincham[4] and Son[5] in the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Victoria[6]}, significantly altered (for example, the organs of St. Andrew's Anglican Cathedral, Sydney, New South Wales,[7] St. John's Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane, Queensland,[8] the 1926 J. E. Dodd[9] organ of St. Francis Xavier's Catholic Cathedral, Adelaide, South Australia[10] and the Pilgrim Uniting (originally Congregational) Church[11] organ,[12] also in Adelaide), or left temporarily or permanently disused while being replaced with electronic or digital organs (for example, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Newtown, New South Wales,[13] and St. Mary's Anglican Church, Kangaroo Point, a suburb of Brisbane.[14])
On 13 May 1977, a public meeting was held in the Chapter House of St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Melbourne, and OHTA was formed. At the time, the organisation was conceived as a means for extending the work of the National Trust of Australia. In 1978, OHTA was incorporated under the Victorian Companies Act 1961, directed by a Council made up of representatives from each State of Australia,[15] and offering membership to all members of the general public.[16]
OHTA is registered with the Australian Government as a Registered Charity recognizing its status as a not-for-profit cultural organization, category: Advancing culture.[17]