The magnificent Alfred Bells, 2011
IMAGE COURTESY OF ED DUNEN.
Above you on level two of the Town Hall is much of the City of Ballarat's archival collection, as well as the Alfred Bells. The Ballarat Town Hall is quite unique, in that it is one of only three town halls in the world to have its own peal of bells.1 The bell tower stands two storeys above the main building, making the Town Hall one of the tallest buildings in Ballarat.2
For years, local legend had it that an unnamed councillor purchased the bells because his wife was pining for the sound of church bells.3 However, historian Weston Bate suggests that the bells were a gesture of support and loyalty to Prince Alfred, whose visit in 1867 left a lasting impression on the people of Ballarat.
Prince Alfred (centre), the Duke of Edinburgh visits the Band of Hope Mine in Ballarat, 1867.
IMAGE COURTESY OF STATE LIBRARY VICTORIA, H6127.
On 12 March 1868, Ballarat residents discovered that an assassination attempt had been made on the Prince’s life while he was in Sydney. Much to their horror, the assailant was a Ballarat man, Henry James O’Farrell. Fortunately, the Prince survived the ordeal, the bullet ricocheting off his braces.
The people of Ballarat were so distressed by this turn of events that money was raised to purchase a set of memorial bells to dedicate to him.4
The eight bells were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which is famous for making the bells installed at London’s Big Ben and the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania.
The lightest of the Alfred Bells weighs 245 kilograms and the heaviest weighs 1,117 kilograms.5 Together, the bells weigh a staggering four-and-a-half tons.6 Because of their sheer size, the only way the bells can be moved in and out of the Town Hall is through specially designed trap doors in the ceilings and floors, directly below the tower.
The residents of Ballarat raised £1,300, or two thirds of the cost of the bells, with the council covering the rest. The bells rang out across the city for the first time on Christmas Day in 1871.7 They have continued to ring at the Ballarat Town Hall on special occasions ever since, such as Christmas and New Year, and during the practice sessions of the Ballarat Bellringers, who keep this historic tradition alive.
REFERENCES
[1] Melissa Cunningham, ‘More volunteers needed to ring Town Hall bells to keep up New Year’s Eve tradition’, The Courier, 31 December 2014, www.thecourier.com.au/story/2792235/town-hall-bells-ring-out-to-herald-another-year/, accessed 12 June 2018; ‘Town Hall & Alfred Bells’, Ballarat Revealed, http://ballaratrevealed.com/locations/details/55, accessed 12 June 2018.
[2] Conversation with hall keeper Rob, May 2018.
[3] ‘Town Hall & Alfred Bells’, Ballarat Revealed, http://ballaratrevealed.com/locations/details/55, accessed 12 June 2018.
[4] ‘Town Hall & Alfred Bells’, Ballarat Revealed, http://ballaratrevealed.com/locations/details/55, accessed 12 June 2018; Bate, 2003, p. 162.
[5] ‘Ballarat Town Hall Clock Bells and Chime or “Carillon”’, Victorian Country Woman, May 2000, pp. 14-15, www.shade.id.au/cazaly/Ballarat%20TH%20Clock%20Bells.pdf, accessed 12 June 2018.
[6] Lovell, 1995, appendix B1.
[7] ‘Ballarat Town Hall Clock Bells and Chime or “Carillon”’, Victorian Country Woman, May 2000, pp. 14-15, www.shade.id.au/cazaly/Ballarat%20TH%20Clock%20Bells.pdf, accessed 12 June 2018.