3 December 2007
THE man who sacrificed two years of his life to make Wollongong's famous organ is devastated by suggestions it may be passed into private hands if the town hall is demolished.
Ronald Sharp, now 78, who is renowned throughout Australia for his musical genius, said such a move would go against his life's work to bring quality music to the people."Technically I own half of Wollongong's organ and I should have a say in what happens to it ... it should always remain with a public organisation where it can be used and appreciated," Mr Sharp said.He said he had acoustically matched the organ to the town hall and great care should be taken, with his guidance, if any re-location was considered.The future of the mechanical action organ, like the hall which has housed it for nearly 40 years, is up in the air.Wollongong City Council will vote on a rescission motion tonight which, if supported, would pave the way for the town hall to be demolished subject to a heritage report.Opposition to any further move involving the hall, without public consultation, is mounting and so too is concern over John Comelli's offer to house the organ in his Anita's Theatre at Thirroul.Protesters will rally outside the council building today at 4pm.The council is maintaining it is committed to its preservation."There are a small number of local venues council has approached to be part of a confidential preliminary assessment as potential sites for the organ if the town hall were no longer available," Lord Mayor Alex Darling said.Councillor Dave Martin, who is supporting tonight's motion, said although he did not want to offer a view on Mr Comelli's offer "it is a possibility".Mr Comelli said: "I know some people don't like the idea of re-locating the organ to my theatre but it would only be on loan and it would be better than boxing and crating it."Mr Sharp said council should not even consider the offer.He made a special visit to Wollongong at the weekend to be re-united with the organ.He made it in 1968, not long after he was commissioned by the State Government to build an organ for the Sydney Opera House.He recalled sitting in the town hall for the debut recital, the first half of which went live to air on ABC Radio."It was incredibly nerve-racking because I knew the architects' people from Sydney Opera House were there assessing the quality," he said."I've made 15 organs which have been placed everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to the Perth Concert Hall and I've always priced them to what people could afford, not what they were worth."THE STORY SO FARNovember 19: Council voted to defer motion calling for the demolition of the town hall pending an option report and public consultation.December 3: A rescission motion will go before council and, if passed, will annul the previous decision.Independent councillor Dave Martin wants it replaced by a new motion calling on council to have a further period of consultation before requesting the general manager to present a development application for the town hall's demolition in January next year.At that meeting he also wants council to consider a report identifying the preferred option for the temporary relocation and installation of the town hall organ.Labor councillors will caucus on issues related to the rescission motion this afternoon.COUNTING THE COST? THE "DO-NOTHING" OPTIONLeave town hall in present state.Capital expenditure: nilAnnual cost: $331,859? THE RENOVATION OPTIONRenovate the town hall to qualify for entertainment licence.Capital expenditure: $3 millionAnnual cost: $331,859? THE FULL REFURBISHMENT OPTIONComplete refurbishment of the town hall.Capital expenditure: $8 millionAnnual cost: $$750,000? THE DEMOLITION OPTIONDemolish town hall and replace with open space.Capital expenditure: $1.9 millionAnnual cost: $23,000? THE REPLACEMENT OPTIONComplete renovation of Civic Square, including new convention centre and world-class concert hallCapital expenditure: $300 millionAnnual cost: unknownSource for all options except replacement option: Wollongong City Council