Bell ringing comes to life in Ballarat

Edith Fry is a familiar face in Ballarat’s grand old Town Hall. Each week she greets council staff with a wave before climbing up the steep and narrow stairs to the belltower for her volunteer duties as a bell ringer.

Passion for Bell Ringing

Edith was just 15 when she answered a newspaper ad calling for volunteer bell ringers and soon developed a passion for it.

“I didn’t play sport when I was young and I suppose I was looking for something interesting – I sure found it!” She says once you’ve learned to manage the bells, it’s a skill for life. “There’s a method to manage the bells, and it is based on pure mathematics.

“Once you have the skill you’re welcome in any tower in the world. The culture of bell ringing is to share your skills with other towns. I have friends all over Australia and could go anywhere in the world and be welcomed by the local group of bell ringers.”

Ballarat’s bells are known as the “Alfred Bells”, after Australia’s first royal visitor, Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria’s second son.

However, the bells do more than commemorate the Prince’s visit to Ballarat in 1867, they were actually purchased by the people of Ballarat as a very public apology to the Prince.

The reason for the apology?

A former Ballarat resident, mad Irishman Henry O’Farrell, took a pot-shot at the royal visitor in Sydney in 1868. Ballarat was keen to avoid being associated with disloyalty, and when someone suggested that the city buy a set of bells for the Town Hall and inscribe them with an account of the assassination attempt, the idea was enthusiastically taken up. The bells were installed three years later.

The Alfred Memorial bells were rung for the first time at 6am on Christmas morning in 1871, when hundreds flocked to the main street in the early hours to hear them.

Ballarat is the only city in regional Victoria with two working sets of bells – the second set is in St Peter’s Church in Sturt Street. Amazingly, there are only four town halls anywhere in the world with similar bells.

“Ringing bells is a tradition from the UK and their purpose historically was to warn people of great danger, to celebrate a great occasion or to mourn the loss of life. The bells were always known as the public’s voice,” according to local historian Anne Doggett.

Here in Ballarat, the bells are rung for important events, such as the installation of a new mayor or on New Year’s Eve. Edith and her friends continue to practice their skills every week.

Tradition Lives On

Edith loves the fact that she’s keeping a 137-year Ballarat tradition alive, one that dates back to medieval times. Newcomers are welcome and, under tuition, can expect to master the art of bell ringing within about six weeks, she says.

“You have to manoeuvre the bell within a fraction of a second to get the right sound. It’s an incredible experience.”

Eight of the country’s best bell ringers will mark the Ballarat Heritage Weekend with a special three-hour peal from 10.30am Saturday 10 May. The peal, which is an extremely rare event, has been organised especially to celebrate the Ballarat Heritage Weekend. Television screens will be placed in the Town Hall so visitors can see the bell ringers in the bell ringing chamber and also see the bells. There will be demonstrations by local bell ringers on Sunday 11 May.