The Great Hall pipe organ was cleaned and overhauled in 2012, and acquired the new Chancellor's Trumpet - a set of new, golden fanfare trumpets which were the gift of the Chancellor's Committee and commemorate Lady Black, wife of former Chancellor Sir Hermann Black and an organist and carillonist in her student days at the University ... more

The Great Hall organ 40th anniversary concert was held on 4 December 2012.

The photo is courtesy of the University of Sydney.

An 18 month restoration of the Great Hall was completed in October 2012. View a video about the work. 

The photos are courtesy of the University Secretariat.

The original 1850s staircase bannister (far left) in the South Vestible of the East Range was replaced, for safety reasons, by a modern reproduction copy (left) of the more elaborate bannister in the North Vestibule.

The photos are courtesy, University Secretariat.

Work was carried out on Clock Tower in 2010, including stabilisation work, restoration of the copolas and restoration works to the stone masonery crenellation on the East Range.
The photo is courtesy of the, University Secretariat.

Level 4 of the Eastern range was refurbished in 2008.

The photo is courtesy, Campus Infrastructure Services.
 

The MacLaurin Hall façade conservation project was initiated in response to the identification of the many parapet stones on the building that were fragile and deteriorating. Up to a 100 stones needed to be replaced on the western façade together with the repair of all the gargoyles. New lead flashings were also installed to protect string courses and carved stones from further damage.

The photo on the far left is courtesy, Campus Infrastructure Services.

Restoration work was carried out on the Western Tower Balcony in 2008.

The photo shows the balcony after the work was completed, courtesy, Campus Infrastructure Services.

The Carillon was restored with the replacement of 32 newly cast high notes, out of a total of 54 bells. The new bells, which were craned into place in the top of the tower 34 metres above the ground, were an integral part of the heritage work carried out on the Clock Tower described above.

The photo is courtesy, University of Sydney Publications.

The Clocktower received a facelift as part of a major project under the University’s Heritage Fabric Maintenance and Conservation Program project. The work to repair the ravages of wind and rain cost some $2 million.

The photo on the far left shows the Clocktower’s original sandstone lion, created in the early 1860s, which was replaced by a fresh lion (left) carved “in the spirit of the original”, for the start of the 2001 academic year, courtesy, Campus Infrastructure Services. The original lion is now on view in the Quadrangle, next to the Information Centre.

The photos are courtesy, University Secretariat.

Floor tiles in the lobby of the original Quadrangle position of the Nicholson Museum of Antiquities (now the Oriental Studies Room) were donated by William Charles Wentworth, who brought them to Sydney from Europe in 1853. They were crafted by Tobias Strino of Naples, Italy. In 1996 the tiles were covered over to protect them from further deterioration. They lie intact under the carpet but a section in the hearth of the fireplace has been left exposed for viewing.

The photo is courtesy, University Secretariat.
 

The interior and exterior of MacLaurin Hall was restored.

The photo is courtesy, University of Sydney. 

The Great Hall Organ, 1971-1972 - The first pipe organ, built by Forster and Andrews of Hull, was installed in the Great Hall during 1881-1882. After ninety years of service to the University, it was replaced in 1971-1972 by the present von Beckerath organ.

The photo of the present organ is courtesy, University of Sydney.