Ronald William Sharp (8 August 1929 – 21 July 2021) was an Australian organ builder. He was awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal (1977) and the British Empire Medal (1980). Sharp was self-taught and built his first organ in 1960. He specialised in mechanical, tracker action instruments, and was responsible for re-introducing mechanical action to Australia after it had been out of fashion for many years due to the convenience of electrical action. His tracker action baroque organs are particularly famous. Although sometimes criticised as having a unique and characteristic tonal design, rather than an authentic "organ" tone, this tone has come to be much appreciated by some authorities and players. Notable organs Sydney Opera House Grand Organbelieved to be the largest mechanical-action organ in the world. It boasts a grand 5 manuals and 131 speaking stops, 4 stops more than Sydney's other notably large organ, in Sydney Town Hall. It is high, wide, a total of deep and weighs . The four largest pipes of the Prinzipal 32' hang on the rear wall and weigh an additional 6 tonnes. Its format, such as the stop and manual names, like most of his other constructions, are German in nature. Sharp was recommended to be the organ builder for this job by the English organist and organ consultant, Peter Hurford. Hurford's admiration for him had been won by the construction of the Knox Grammar School's organ on which Hurford had made a recording. Many people doubted that such a huge pipe organ, as proposed by Sharp, particularly one using mechanical key action, could be built by him – or anybody. Controversy raged throughout the construction years, until finally Sharp’s magnum opus was completed, at a cost of A$1.2 million, under the supervision of the NSW Department of Public Works, which was also responsible for supervising construction of the Sydney Opera House. The Department handed over the completed instrument to the Opera House Trust on 30 May 1979 and the opening recital was on 7 June 1979. Knox Grammar School organlocated within the War Memorial Chapel. Well known throughout Australia and the world by its many recordings some of which, as mentioned above, performed by English Organist Peter Hurford. This instrument has the distinction of being the first major modern mechanical action organ in the country. It is a Classical style organ, with 3 manuals, 31 speaking stops, 1 coupler, opened in 1965.