BALLARAT
TOWNHALLCLOCKBELLS
and CHIMEor "CARILLON"
-Fhe
CiN of Balldrdris indeed bles'ed wirh a frne peal of
I E n g l . \ hB p l l 5d n d d C r l l o n .w h n h m o r ep r c p e l y s h o u l db e
describedasa "chjme". lt is ratherunusualtofind a p€alofsuch
bellsoulsideofchurch towe6. Curently lherearc only four sit€s
in the world, namelyManchester,
Adelaide,Rockinsham(Pert}l)
and Ballarat.BallaratTown Hall Bell, €onsistiof I bells, the
li8htert(lreble)254kE,
and the heaviest(t€nodll17kg. Thir peal,
despit€a suggestion
by a fomer residentof Eallarattothe tdiior
of the "BallaratStar' in the early 1860! to emulaleCe€long,
tjrerewas only inilial enthusiasmto the idea.
The reson for their installationrcstslar8€lyupon the extraordinarvattachmentBallarathad for the RovalVisit of H. R. H.
PrinceAlfred, Duke of tdinbursh in Decemb€r1867. 50 successful was the hospitality of Ballaratthat he subsequendy
returnedtor a day at the racesat Dowling Forest.
The Princecontinuedhis lour and the rcsultinghappenings
can best be descibed by ftolessor Weslon Sate from his book
postscript,for
"tucky Cily":"Thosebellsrangout an asionishinS
they w€re a publjc penancefor the faci that a Ballaratman, H J
O'Farrcll,a demented,alcoholic,kish prcducenealerfrom the
Ma et Square,shot rhe Duke in the back (fodunatelyhinins his
bracet duins a public picnic at Sydneyon Thursdayl2 March
1868. Ballaralwas so shockedthat five or six thousandmen
PaBe1+"Victotian CountryWonan" May 2000
crcwded into the Alfred Hall (buih for the Duke's visir to
Ballarat),on Satu.dayl4 March, to pu€e themselves(the Staf's
exprcssion)of even the sliShlestassociationof O'Farrcll with
Ballarat.Ofticials and cle€y of every d€scriptionanended.
Ballarat'scolourfulhistoryhad seenno more eclectic,united or
feruent assembly-Shouts ot rage 8reeted every mention ol
O'Faiiell and uncontrollableche€6 any rcference!o the Duke.
Four maior emotions were apparcntly exprcssed: hatred ot th€
horforat the thou8htthat he might havebeena Fenian,
assassin,
sympalhytor the victim, and, loyaltyto the Clown. Everyvhere
in Australia,people were distrcssed,but at Ballarat,they were
distracted.Hadlv anv blsiners was done at the Corner on
Satuday momins and crowds Salhercdat the teleshph oftice
where regular bullelins descdbinsthe Duke', condition were
posted. When his recovery was announced the tollowinS
Wednesday,extraodinary scenesoccured, and on ThuBday
Eallaral people unlurled thcn fldg5 and lit up transparencies
a8ain.On the Sundaywhen mon cleGy said specialprayersfor
Alfred's rccoverv the Prot€stants
were auick to moralize. Dr
Canns, a Presbneian, hoped that the Princewould now feel
that h€ too was mortal. However the Catholics lor8ot to pray
and the mostChristianstatementcametrom the Jews,who took
the opportunityio praiseCod, not modify man.
I The absenceofCalholic prayelsconfirmedmany in th€ ruspicion that O'Fanell was a Fenian and that the ldsh were
involved. 8ut ,eclatan bitternes was a minor element in the
maanfurs that ensued,even thoush Tlesday 17 March was St.
Patrick', Day. The spotlightfell on a theatricalman, Frcderick
Lysterwho, just alier hearins oi the shootins but beforc the
arsasin's name was known, was heafd to speakout strongly
againstall secrctsoci€tier,whetherFenianor OranSe.The trcubles of EnBIand,keland and Scotland,he felt, should not to be
allowed to distulb Austlalia,blessedas it was wilh the advantares of a monarchy but the fr€edom of a republic. when
prcssedto def€ndhis unpopularviewrhanhe shoorinshadbeen
the wo*ofa madman,nota Fenian,he i, alle8edto haverworn
that he saw no reson anywayto be so concernedabout "anyson-of-aRoyal-Hi8hness".
tyster'srcputationwas lynchedon the spol.A meetingwa5
held at the Mechanic'sInrlituteon Fridaynightto investigatethe
truth of the accusationaSainsthim, and he was called on to
make an abi€ct apology.His brcthef,W S Lyster,was so concerned{or the family operi companythat he decidedto give two
monsterchariryconce(s in theAlfred Hallto wioe out the stain
of his brothe/s indiscrction.It is no wonder then, than when
Peler Czaly of Drummond Strel s!$ested rhe purchaseof
m€mo albells to be inscribedwith an accounloilhe datadly
anempton Alfred'slife, and to speakout in loud sonoroustones
aboutthe loyaltyof Ballarat-The ideawas seizedupon and caF
ri€d out as thoush the heakhof the whole nationwas at stake".
With lheearlier idea beinBresuiiectedand the prcsentTown
Hallplans b€in8preparcd,the Town Halltowerwas enia€ed lo
accommodatethe Alfied memorial8ells.The bellsw€re cast al
what i, now known as WhitechapelSell Foundry,then known
as Mea6 and staiDbeck.This foundry has been in existence
sinceabout l57O when bell5uch as BiB Ben,and the Bow Bell5
of "Oran8e, and Lemons"famewere can. By the lime the peal
had affived in Ballarat,the plblic had subscib€d aboul 2/3
lowads the cost of 11,300.The colncil gavethe bank a Suar
anteefor the balance,at an interestof 9%. The bellspealedout
for rhe first tameat 6.00amon ChristmasDaywhen th€ bells,reach€dtheir C€nt€naryth€y were run8 at
the morc civilisedhour of8.0oam. The bellshavehenlded and
marked many historic @casionssince ChristmasDay 1871.
They traditionallygrceta Mayof on his,4rer
installation,and rinS
In 1981,the b€llswerc rcmov€dfrom the tower,alongwith
the carillon,to the originalfoundryin London,to be rcturbished
and rehung in a new metal frame,to rcptacethe orisinal oak
flame. The cost of this work alonSwith fecastin8the Carillon
was $74,151allotwhich was met by a Senerousbenefactor.
rOWIR AND CARILION
(extGctfrom Mayo/s repod,City of Ballaad 1873)
Clock: Durins the ye the whole of the remainderof the
clock and ca llon havebe€nrcceivedand erected,and are now
Soingregularly The eff(t of the soundof th€ carillon has not
realised exp€ctalions, and i5 contemplation to try them in a differentsituation,but no action hasyet beendecidedon, as their
presentpositionis that selectedby MessrsMoore and sons,lhe
manufactureG.
lt is evidentthey are far too hi8h, and the room
they are hunBin is unsuitable.
Th€ following is a generald€s.riptionofthe clock:
It is an eishtday turretclock, with four slazed ircn skeleton
dials with copper hands.lt is a(ansed to striketh€ houu and
quarte6on the Al{redmemorialBelh.The ouirtel9 arc struckon
the fi6t four bellsas follows (the b€llsare number€dI -4)
FarstQua.ter - 1324' SecondQuarter- 2134 - i234, Third
Q u a n e r ' 2 3 1 4 - 3 2 1 4 1 3 2 4 rF o l d h Q l a n e r - 2 1 1 4- 1 2 3 42314 - 3214.
The ho!r is struckby the largetenorbell. The strikin8apparatusis so arran8edthat the b€ll, can be runs at any time wilhout inlerferingwith it.
The weishtsof the clock arc carrieddown in spacesleft in
the lhree corneGof the tower as far as the lloor of the beltry,
underf,eatheachweight isa lace woodentankfilled with sand,
restin8on a strong ircn gider, so as to avoid all accidentsin
caseof rh€ wei8ht falling. The necessityfor thjs will be s€en
when I mention that the larye( weight that is for the qua(els
weiShs161/2 cwt (838ks);the weight for the hour stdker91/2
cwl (482k9),and thatforthe dial pendulum,3 cwt (152k9);and
that for the carillon,4 cwt{203k9; the weiShtfor the pendulum
k 4 cwt {201k8)
The carillon consistsof sine€n bells,and the clock willplay
th€m four timesa day v'z 8.00am,noon, 4.00pm and 8.00pm.
Thercare seventunes,thus givinSa difturenttune for everyday
of the week. As follotas:
Sunday- EveningHymn "Sunofmy Soul"
Monday -'Blueb€lls of Scotland"
Tuesday-'Hom€ sw€et Home"
Wednesday' "Mefty Bellsof tn8land"
Thu6day "swissAh"
Friday- "Rule Eritannia"
Saturday- "Caller Her n"
Diali
The dialswereoriginallyintendedto haveSroundElasscentres, with opal Slassbetwe€n lhe tiEures,which were lo be
painledred, with gilded hands.fhe effe.t ofthis not beins sufficientlydistinctat a distance,vafiousmethodswere tried, and
ultimatelyit was decidedto leavethe figuresred and paint the
handsblack,havinsthecentrepan of the dial coatedwilh white
opal, the sameas the rcrt of the slass.The lishting oi the slas
at nisht haso€casionedconride€ble difficulty.The plan now in
use is that adoptedby the BallaalatCas Company,who have
contractd to liSht up lhe dials flom dusk in the summerand
6.0opm in the winter, lntil 10.o0pmon six ni8hlsof the we€k,
and until 12.0opmon Saturdays,105 pound, per annum.The
cloc& is set on two ircn Birdersplaced acrossthe tower to
rcceiveit, and is €nclosedby an el€gantglzed nructurc,so as
to enableil to be seenwithout beinStouched,and at the same
time lo ke€pit protectedby dust.The totalofthe clock up to lhe
presentis 2,077 pounds17 shillinsr9 pence.
The dials arc 2.7 metres in diameter,and are 29 metres
abovethe fooFath. Th€ tower is approximately41 metreshighRefercnces(l ) -rhe Lucky City - The Firstgeneration in Ballant,
18s1 - 1901", pase 164 (2) Mayoral rcpott of lhe Ciry of
Ballaatat1873
REfURBISHMENT
A $2m refu$ishmentOF Ballaalafshisto c To\rn Hall in
StuttStrcethas successfully
addressed
the needfor morc office
space,a desirc10 prcseruea pie€eof local hirtory,and a com'
mitmentto makinSthe building moreaccess'bleand invitin8for
residenrs.Consideredone of Eallaarafsmost sisnificanrbuildings,the Town Hall has been rcstoredto its fomer grandeur/
exposingsome of the original c€ilings,and replacingsome oi
the had Dlasterarchesin the front fover Archilectshave suc'
cessfullycombined 'old with new' maintaininsthe buildin8's
facad€ while crcatinSan interior which lends itself to a thor
oughly modern approach, includan8a countetsfreecustom€r
servicesystemdesignedto deliverthe hi8hestquality se ice to
th€ Ballaalatcommunity.
Accessibilityhas been a key priority in th€ buildins wo*s,
w'th a ljft inslalled lo imprcve access to the fi|st floor meeting
r@ms and CouncilChamb€r
Peoplewith hearingdif{icultieshave been given particular
conside€tion,with the installationof a hearingor induction
l@p;n lhe CouncilChamb€r
Ene€y €fficiency is another fealue of the blilding. The
Iightingsystemis both ene€y and cost efJicient.lf a rcom is
vacatedthe lishls automaticallytum ofi, and if lherc is a lot of
naturallight enteringa rcom from windows,the lightingsystem
will automaticallyadjustby lowerinBlev€lsin that arca.
Ihe new Council Chamberis locatedin the nonhem end of
the Mus€umR@m on the fiBtfloor of the Town Hall.
While the grand,taditional himmingsof an 1870 building
remain,Council has8on€to grcatiengthsto createa morecustomeFfriendlyenvironmentto encouragemorc peopleto make
useof the facilitiesand seryicesprcvidedby Councilandto take
a more activepalt in Counc'l affai6.
APTII CRYPTICCTOSSWORDSOLUIION:
ACIOSS: l- Mi$6; 4, Bealh; 7. Ale; 8, Slam; 10.Cdb; 11.
M i s r ; 1 2 . A c h € ;1 3 . A m e n ;l 5 . A n n ; 1 7 . R e s ! l 9 , P e n c e , 2 l .
Wspsj 22, EniSma5;23. Arums, 25. Strip; 28. Byre, 29. Coo;
3 1 .M a 8 i ; 3 2 . B a w l j 3 3 .F l a & l 4 . C o a t i 1 5 . s d k ; 1 6 . U * ;
DOWN: i. Mishap; 2. Sl.men; 3 & 29- SantaClaus; 4, Beganj
s. Agrees; 6. Habirs; 9, Mincemeari 14 & 10. Merry Chrisrmasi
1 6 . N e g . o ,1 8 . S p r i g ;2 0 . E n l 2 1 . W a s , 2 3 . A b . c u s ; 2 4 Urbanej 26. Ragour;27, Picklej 29, Se 3 down; 30. Ofier
PaEeI lv.lorian
Counw Woman"May2N0