George Fincham (20 August 1828 – 21 December 1910) was an organ builder active in Australia. Fincham was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

; his father (Jonathan George Fincham) and grandfather were both organ builders and so it is not surprising he practised this trade himself. He was apprenticed in 1842–49 to the London organ builder

Henry Bevington Henry Bevington (26 July 1777''England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837'' – 8 November 1850)''London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003'' was a prolific English organ builder, active in Lon ...

, and then worked as a foreman for James Bishop & Son. Fincham emigrated to Australia in 1852 and started working as an organ tuner and repairer 113 Queen Street in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In 1853 he went to the diggings at Ballarat. He returned to Melbourne in 1854 and worked as a builder on the

Spencer Street railway station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Victoria, Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, Melbourne, Spencer Street, between Collins Street, Melbourne, Collins ...

. Within ten years of his arrival in Australia he had raised sufficient funds to equip a workshop and buy stock to begin organ building as George Fincham & Sons. Also by this time churches had funds for pipe organs and interest in organ music was growing, helped by the arrival of organists such as Charles Horsley, David Lee and the Revd George Torrance in Australia. The organ building business grew and by 1904 he had a branches in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and Sydney, and agents in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. Altogether he built about 200 organs for cathedrals and churches and supplied pipe work and parts to organ builders throughout Australasia. His integrity and the quality of the organs he built overcame the prejudice towards colonial work. He was outstanding among Australian organ builders for his skill, his business ability and his readiness to keep pace with modern trends. He patented many improvements; most of the organs he built had mechanical action and from 1886 some had tubular-pneumatic. Fincham died in

in 1910. His company, continued by his sons and grandsons, completed many projects in more than a century of organ building. It closed down in February 2006.

Notable organs

Organ Pipes and Cherub at Malvern Presbyterian Church 01

His notable instruments include: * Intercolonial Exhibition of Australasia (built by Fincham in 1866). *

Royal Exhibition Building The Royal Exhibition Building is a World Heritage-listed building in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, built in 1879–1880 as part of the international exhibition movement, which presented over 50 exhibitions between 1851 and 1915 around the glo ...

, Melbourne (built by Fincham in 1880) – considered his ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

''. * St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Frankston (built by Fincham's son Leslie Fincham in 1927, and refurbished by his grandson George B. Fincham in 1977). *

St Kilda Town Hall St Kilda Town Hall is a grand, classically styled city hall, located on the corner of Brighton Road and Carlisle Street in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia. The first stage, never completed, was built as the municipal offices and public hall for th ...

(built by Fincham in 1892) – destroyed by fire on 7 April 1991. * St Mary Star of the Sea, West Melbourne (built by Fincham between 1898 and 1900) – "Australia's largest 19th-century instrument still intact". *

Malvern Presbyterian Church, Melbourne Malvern Presbyterian Church is located in Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1886, it was the first Presbyterian Church to be founded in the City of Malvern and is now within Stonnington, a metropolitan area of Melbourne. The church is a congregat ...

(built by Fincham in 1906) – still in good working order. * St. Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne (built by Fincham's grandson George B. Fincham in 1962).

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fincham, George Pipe organ building companies Manufacturing companies established in 1862 Companies disestablished in 2006 Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Australia Australian companies established in 1862 Australian pipe organ builders

Notable organs

See also

References