In the mid-1990s the Auckland Town Hall was restored to its original splendour, but the organ was largely untouched, apart from moving the console back to its former position in the centre of the façade.

Around the turn of the century, the growing dissatisfaction of musicians prompted City Organist Dr John Wells to seek a solution. Preliminary investigations led to the formation of the Auckland Town Hall Organ Trust, the appointment of international consultant Ian Bell of London and the calling of world-wide expressions of interest from organ builders. The aim was to 'restore the splendour of the town hall organ.'

Following the subsequent tendering process, the Auckland City Council signed a contract with one of Germany's largest organ building companies, Orgelbau Klais of Bonn for $3.5 million. The city would provide $3 million; the rest would come from public subscription through an 'adopt-a-pipe' scheme administered by the Trust.

With so little of the original to work with, Klais opted to build a new organ incorporating what was salvageable from the 1911 instrument. It would be a third larger than the original and in every way designed as an international instrument of the twenty first century. Uniquely it would have two stops based on Maori instruments – the Kōauau and the Pūkāea. All through, the spirit of the 1911 instrument would be captured using similar pipe scales and wind pressures to ensure the Town Hall was filled with sound.

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