On Sunday, May 29, 2018 we were delighted with the crowd that attended the afternoon event to wish farewell to the Harmonium organ and acknowledge the closure of St Thomas Aquinas Church Clunes. Fr Gary Jones, Parish Priest, welcomed the crowd and thanked them for coming. The number of people that attended was many more than we expected and many were former Clunes residents. Also people from other denominational churches in the area came along to support and share with us in the event. To have Mary (Power) Lo Lacono play the organ again was very special – she first played that organ when she was fourteen years old and continued to play that organ for the next fifty years. We also had Anne Marie Culvenor play. Judy Houston (an organiser for Organs in the Goldfields) gave a short talk about the organ, and Meg Barry who grew up in Ullina and attended St Thomas Aquinas Church with her family for many years, gave a wonderful talk on her memories of attending church there.
We then went to the Warehouse Gallery for afternoon tea, where Fr Gary thanked the museum for accepting our offer of the organ. All former parishioners then cut the beautifully decorated cake which had a replica of the church made into the icing.
The organ is now in its new home at The Clunes Museum. We would like to thank everyone who attended, and also the people who helped in so many ways to make this day very special for the St Thomas Aquinas Community.
Leah Monaghan – Parish Secretary