A church organ originally built in 1938 by Harrison and Harrison for St Luke's, Cowley, Oxford, has been installed in St Mark's Church, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. This is the climax to an exciting nine year restoration project at the landmark Melbourne church built in 1853.

The restoration project was launched in 1991 by the Archbishop of Melbourne. The first stage, completed in 1994 and costing AU$250,000, tackled urgent structural problems including damp, obsolete wiring and conservation of priceless stained glass windows. The second stage was launched in 1996 and the first part, restoration of the stone work, was completed the following year. For the second part the church closed for 6 months in 1998 to allow major restoration of the interior. This work cost AU$360,000. Altogether the total cost for restoring St Mark's is over AU$1million.

The historic English pipe organ - the only one of its kind and installed by Peter Jewkes, the Sydney organ builder - was dedicated at a special service and concert on Sunday 31st October 1999 where the organ also made its debut.

The organ was given to St Mark's by the Diocese of Oxford following a visit to St Luke's Church in 1998 by the vicar of St Mark's, Fr Tony Noble. The installation of the organ was assisted by a grant of AU$20,000 from the State Government's Community Support Fund.

St Mark's runs a drop-in welfare centre with an annual budget of AU$250,000. The St Mark's Community Centre, adjacent to the church, is well known for its community programmes, including pioneering work in ministry to people with AIDS. Services are provided to people with disadvantages and those living on the streets, including food, clothing, showers, emergency assistance and sporting events. The day-to-day funding of the Community Centre is the responsibility of the congregation.

St Mark's will continue to be a focus within the community for many people, and the restoration project will have an impact on tourism, the economy and the wider community.