Josiah Eustace Dodd Explained

Josiah Eustace Dodd (16 August 1856 – 30 January 1952)^[1] was an Australian pipe organ builder, based in Adelaide.

History

Dodd was born in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, to Ebenezer Daniel Dodd (c. 1827–1889)^[2] and his wife Johanna Dodd, née Moloney, later of Castlemaine, Victoria. He was educated at St Stephen's Church School in Richmond, and apprenticed to the organ builder George Fincham^[3] of Bridge Road, Mitcham.In 1881 Fincham sent Hobday and Dodd to South Australia to open a branch of the business in Adelaide, setting up in Twin Street.^[4]

Arthur Hobday (1851–1912) was a son of Justin Harold "Harry" Hobday, organist and choir master at Christ Church, Geelong until 1870 when he left for Trinity Church, Geelong. Hobday was apprenticed to Fincham, then acted as client manager, organising plans and specifications, contracts, final inspection, tuning and voicing, then chasing up payments.Hobday and Dodd complemented each other, with Dodd taking responsibility for construction and finish, for which Hobday had no talent.^[5] Their first commission was a new organ for the Norwood Baptist Church,^[6] taking their old one (ex-Christ Church, North Adelaide) as part-payment; its component parts were later used to upgrade or refurbish other instruments.

They won a gold medal at the Adelaide Jubilee Exhibition in 1887.

In 1888 Hobday came into some money, purchased a half share of Fincham's business, and returned to Melbourne, leaving Dodd as Adelaide manager. The partnership of Fincham and Hobday was dissolved in September 1896 amid recriminations;^[5] Hobday settled in Wellington, New Zealand, where he ran a successful organbuilding business and died on 9 October 1912.^[7] In the early 1890s Australia was hit by a financial recession, and organ-building became unprofitable. Fincham & Hobday began laying off workers and taking any kind of work, even unprofitably, in order to retain their skilled staff. In this climate Dodd was able in 1894 to purchase the Adelaide business for £1000.^[5]

Dodd was able to convince South Australian churches of the benefits to be gained from dealing with a local manufacturer, and within a few years he had secured some substantial orders, notably Clayton Congregational Church in Norwood (1897), the Methodist Church in Kent Town (1898), and the Elder Hall on North Terrace (1901). His instruments were praised for their "high order of workmanship, light touch, and the ease with which they may be played" though they may have been less powerful than others.^[8]

In 1903 he opened a branch in Perth, managed by his eldest son Ebenezer, who won the contract for renovation and upgrading of the St George's Cathedral, Perth organ.^[9]

In 1905 he had a new showroom and factory built on Acre 271, west side of Gawler Place, between Flinders and Wakefield streets. The upper floor was devoted to refurbishment of pianos, which shortly became a growth industry as a result of Federal import duties being applied to musical instruments. Arthur Bishop (1868–1948) was appointed to manage this section.^[10]

In 1918 he opened a branch in Melbourne managed by his younger son Eustace.^[9]

Around 1935 the Gunn brothers, Bill Binding and Joseph Starling, frustrated by Dodd's autocratic ways and reluctance to adopt the latest technology, left the company and founded Gunstar Organ Works with premises at Plympton. With the advent of World War II, and many workers joining the 2nd AIF, the two companies amalgamated as J. E. Dodd & Sons Gunstar Organ Works.^[5]

Dodd retired around 1948.^[1]

In 1966 the company was still operating, as J. E. Dodd & Sons, at 2 Winifred Avenue, Plympton.^[11]

In 1979 the company was taken over by George Stephens.Web site: The Organ in Wesley Uniting Church . Wesley Music Centre . 3 September 2020.

Some installations

Fincham & Hobday

• Norwood Baptist Church (1882)^[6]
• Christ Church Mount Gambier (1883 (opened by Boult, organist of St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide)^[12]
• Rebuilt Pirie Street Wesleyan Church (Eagles of London)
• Tynte Street Church
• Archer Street Wesleyan Church
• Rebuilt Brougham Place Methodist Church
• Adelaide Jubilee Exhibition organ^[13] before installation in the Archer Street Wesleyan Congregation Church. "Presented by Mrs. John Dunn, assisted by a few friends, 1888."
• North Adelaide Baptist Church^[8]
• Modifications to (Hill & Sons) organ in Adelaide Town Hall (1886)^{[14] [15]}

J. E. Dodd

• Clayton Congregational Church, Norwood (1897)
• St Andrew's Church, Walkerville (1897)^[16]
• Clayton Congregational Church (1898)^[15]
• Kent Town Wesleyan Church (1898)^[15]
• Methodist Church, Kent Town (1898)
• Unitarian Church, Wakefield Street (1901),^[17] replacing the Wolff organ described as "out of date and in hopelessly bad repair"^[15]
• Elder Hall, University of Adelaide (1901), later shifted to St Mark's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Port Pirie.
• St John's Church, Adelaide (1901)^[18]
• Extensive renovations to the German Church, Flinders street (1904)
• The Church of St. Laurence the Martyr, North Adelaide (c. 1907)^[19]
• Draper Memorial Church, Gilbert Street (1908)^[20] replacing a Wolff instrument in 1899 described as "out of date and in hopelessly bad repair"^[15] This organ was installed at Angaston in 1943.
• St Mary's, Eskbank, Lithgow, New South Wales (1909)^[21]
• St Mary's Cathedral, Perth (1910) This instrument, after being rebuilt twice, is still in use.^[22]
• St John's Cathedral, Napier, New Zealand (1910)
• St Matthew's Church, Guildford (1911)
• Victoria Square Methodist Church, Kadina (1911)^[23]
• Patterson Street Methodist Church, Launceston, Tasmania (1912)
• St Carthage's Cathedral, Lismore, New South Wales (1912)
• Coudrey Memorial organ at the Baptist Church, Parkside, South Australia (1913)^[24]
• Modifications to Archer Street Methodist Church (1914)^[25]
• St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Hamilton, South Australia (1914)^{[26] [27] [28]}
• Zion Lutheran Church Walla Walla, New South Wales
• St Martin's Anglican church, Killara
• Ross Memorial church, Murrumburrah
• St David's Uniting Church, Dodd's sixth in New South Wales^[29]
• All Souls' Church, Adelaide (1916)
• St Columba's Church, Adelaide (1916)^[30]
• Gartrell Memorial Church, Rose Park (1915)^[31]
• St Joseph's Church, Malvern, Victoria (1917)
• St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide (1926, with additions to come when funds available)^[32]
• Trinity Congregational Church, Perth (1926)^[33]
• Wurlitzer organ in Regent Theatre, Adelaide (1928)^[34]
• Maughan Church (1929)^[35]
• St George's College Chapel, Perth^{[36] [37]}
• Angaston Congregational Church (1943) historic organ from Draper Memorial installed by Dodd, Binding, Starling and Dodd jun.,^[38]
• St Patrick's Basilica, Fremantle electrified by Dodd's Gunstar works c. 1960

Other Adelaide organ builders

• Walter George Rendall had a workshop at Ann Street, Stepney; built one for the North Adelaide Congregational Church, upgraded by Fincham & Hobday. Rendall was involved in 1908 dispute with Sydney's Pitt Street Congregational Church over non-payment of his account, they claiming breach of contract.^[39]
• Johann Wilhelm Wolff (c. 1818–1894)^[40] built nearly twenty church organs in SA,^[41] including St Francis Xavier's Cathedral's first organ in 1869, and the Unitarian church opposite, in 1877;^[42] both later replaced by Dodd.
• Robert McKenzie or Mackenzie (c. 1839–1905)^[43] erected the organs in Adelaide Town Hall (for William Hill & Sons, London) and St Peters Cathedral (for Bishop & Son, London).^[44] He was obliged to defend the installation of both.^{[45] [46]} His workshop was severely damaged by fire in 1881; he was suspected of arson.^[47]
• Samuel Marshall (1803–1879), music retailer of Adelaide, founder of Marshall & Sons, was originally an organ builder.
• William Leopold Roberts (died 1972), built "Memorial Organ" for St Andrew's Church in Brighton, Victoria.

Family

On 10 April 1879 Dodd married Jessie Lovat Fraser of Inverness, Scotland at the Baptist Church, Richmond, Victoria.^[48] They had two sons and a daughter.

• Ebenezer Daniel Dodd (–) married Annie Maria Jordan in 1906. He was an organbuilder in Perth,^[49] with a shop on Hay Street and a home in Crawley.
• Duncan Eustace Fraser Dodd (c. 1886–1945)^[50] married Jessie Florence ?? in 1914, moved to Sydney, where he and partner William Crowle had business in York Street as Australasian representatives of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of New York. He left the firm around 1925, and an ex-employee, W. L. Roberts, took much of the cinema organ business.^[5]

They had a home on Osmond Terrace, Norwood, later Glenelg, where they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.^[51]

External links

• Organ Historical Trust of Australia article

Notes and References

1. News: Obituary . . 94 . 29,116 . South Australia . 5 February 1952 . 27 August 2020 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
2. News: Family Notices . . XXXII . 9690 . South Australia . 7 November 1889 . 2 September 2020 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
3. News: A Victorian Organ Factory . . 11,388 . Victoria, Australia . 19 December 1882 . 25 August 2020 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
4. News: Mr Arthur Hobday . . XXXI . 365 . Victoria, Australia . 27 August 1892 . 25 August 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
5. Web site: A fresh appreciation of the career of Arthur Hobday . Ronald G. Newton . . 26 August 2020.
6. News: Organ Recital . . XLVII . 11,040 . South Australia . 3 April 1882 . 2 September 2020 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
7. Web site: Sacred Heart Basilica Timaru, New Zealand . 26 August 2020.
8. News: The King of Instruments . . LXIV . 16,288 . South Australia . 26 January 1899 . 25 August 2020 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
9. Book: Bruce Naylor . Australian Dictionary of Biography: Dodd, Josiah Eustace (1856–1952) . Josiah Eustace Dodd (1856–1952) . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University . 1981 . 25 August 2020.
10. News: J. E. Dodd's Organ Factory . . LXXIII . 19,263 . South Australia . 8 August 1908 . 27 August 2020 . 14 . National Library of Australia. The photograph SLSA PRG 631/2/1291 appears to be of a single storey building; a dilemma not yet resolved.
11. Book: Sands & McDougall's Directory of South Australia. 1962.
12. News: Christ Church Organ . . XXII . 2011 . South Australia . 10 February 1883 . 26 August 2020 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
13. News: The Organ . . LII . 12,668 . South Australia . 21 June 1887 . 26 August 2020 . 11 (Jubilee Supplement to the South Australia Register.) . National Library of Australia.
14. News: The Town Hall Organ . . XXIX . 8732 . South Australia . 13 October 1886 . 26 August 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
15. News: A Musical City . . XXXVI . 10,580 . South Australia . 28 January 1899 . 2 September 2020 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
16. News: Church Choirs . . XI . 1,690 . South Australia . 13 December 1928 . 2 September 2020 . 14 . National Library of Australia.
17. News: Religious . . LXVI . 17,026 . South Australia . 8 June 1901 . 3 September 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
18. News: St John's Church OIrgan . . LXVI . 17,195 . South Australia . 23 December 1901 . 3 September 2020 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
19. News: Church Choirs . . X . 1,427 . South Australia . 9 February 1928 . 2 September 2020 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
20. News: Musical Notes . . XLV . 13,432 . South Australia . 20 June 1908 . 2 September 2020 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
21. News: Musical Notes . . XLIII . 12035 . South Australia . 23 October 1909 . 2 September 2020 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
22. Web site: Happy 110th . Jacinta . St Mary's Cathedral, Perth . 29 May 2020. 3 September 2020.
23. News: The Country . . LIV . 16,507 . South Australia . 12 September 1911 . 2 September 2020 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
24. News: Musical Notes . . LXXVIII . 20,663 . South Australia . 1 February 1913 . 2 September 2020 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
25. News: Church Notes . . LVI . 17,258 . South Australia . 7 February 1914 . 2 September 2020 . 8 . National Library of Australia.
26. News: 1914-09-25 . HAMILTON ANGLICAN CHURCH. . Kapunda Herald . 2023-04-10.
27. News: 1914-10-30 . HAMILTON ANGLICAN CHURCH. . Kapunda Herald . 2023-04-10.
28. Web site: St Matthew's Anglican Church Hamilton . 2023-04-10 . www.ohta.org.au.
29. 01669. S91/02669, S93/00853. 28 May 2018.
30. News: Music and the Stage . . LXXXI . 21,766 . South Australia . 12 August 1916 . 2 September 2020 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
31. News: Gartrell Memorial Church, Rose Park . . 4 . 167 . South Australia . 24 July 1915 . 2 September 2020 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
32. News: The Cathedral Organ . . XXXVII . 1898 . South Australia . 16 April 1926 . 2 September 2020 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
33. News: Among the Churches . . XLII . 7,434 . Western Australia . 27 March 1926 . 3 September 2020 . 9 . National Library of Australia.
34. News: Superb Cinema Organ . . XCIII . 27,178 . South Australia . 22 September 1928 . 2 September 2020 . 12 . National Library of Australia.
35. News: Maughan Church . . South Australia . 11 April 1929 . 3 September 2020 . 14 . National Library of Australia. illustrated
36. Book: Melville-Jones, John . The Hackett Memorial Buildings at the University of Western Australia . . 2012 . 9780859055437 . Carlisle . 51 . en-AU . 837257008.
37. Web site: 1971 . St George's College, Crawley . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324080626/http://www.oswa.org.au/sup/WAOrgans/Crawley/CrawleyStGeorge.html . 24 March 2023 . 2023-05-25 . Organ Society of Western Australia.
38. News: Dedication of Pipe Organ at Ang. Cong. Church . . 26 . 1300 . South Australia . 14 October 1943 . 3 September 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
39. News: Organ Builder and Deacons . . 12,846 . New South Wales, Australia . 11 August 1908 . 2 September 2020 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
40. News: Family Notices . . LI . 2,754 . South Australia . 14 July 1894 . 2 September 2020 . 24 . National Library of Australia.
41. News: J. W. Wolff of Victoria Square . . XV . 4,314 . South Australia . 8 June 1878 . 2 September 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
42. News: Opening of the Unitarian Church Organ . . XIV . 3,984 . South Australia . 14 April 1877 . 3 September 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
43. News: Family Notices . . 15,623 . Victoria, Australia . 5 April 1905 . 2 September 2020 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
44. News: Latest News. . . IX . 2720 . South Australia . 10 December 1877 . 2 September 2020 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
45. News: The Town Hall Organ . . XIV . 3993 . South Australia . 16 February 1882 . 2 September 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
46. News: St Peter's Cathedral Organ . . XIII . 3922 . South Australia . 22 November 1881 . 2 September 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
47. News: Wilfully Setting Fire to a Shop . . XVIII . 5,170 . South Australia . 31 March 1881 . 2 September 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
48. News: Family Notices . . XLI . 1224 . Victoria, Australia . 14 June 1879 . 25 August 2020 . 27 . National Library of Australia.
49. News: The Organ Plays—Up Go the Umbrellas . . 40 . 6,182 . South Australia . 22 May 1943 . 2 September 2020 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
50. News: Obituary . . XXXXV . 38 . New South Wales, Australia . 21 September 1945 . 2 September 2020 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
51. News: Platinum Wedding . . South Australia . 22 April 1949 . 3 September 2020 . 18 . National Library of Australia.