William Johnson (organist)

William Johnson (1811–1866) was an English-born organist, conductor, composer, organ builder and music publisher based in Sydney. Early life Johnson was born in London, the son of a watchmaker, Richard Johnson (1774–1844) and Elizabeth Phillips (1780–1861). It is said that his grand-uncle was Rev Richard Johnson (1753–1827), the first Church of England chaplain in Sydney. Arrival in Australia Several members of his family came out to New South Wales from the early 1830s including his father and mother, and his brothers James Johnson (1803–1860) - who was also a talented musician - and Robert Ebenezer Johnson (1812–1866) - who became a barrister and a Member of the NSW Legislative Council. Johnson arrived in Sydney, with his brother James, in January 1836 and immediately advertised himself as a professor of music and tuner of organs and piano-fortes. In 1838, he married Eliza Harris Tompson (1817–1879) at St Matthew’s Windsor. Career Two years after his marriage, together with John Kinloch (1795–1870), he built Australia’s first “finger” organ, which still stands in St Matthew’s, Windsor. The partnership with Kinloch did not last long, and he built a number of organs under his own n