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Tasmanian Anglican

December 2003

 

 

 


Patrick is carefully hoisted from the aptly-named removalists' van.

 

 


Bell Captain Douglas Nichols with David, and Jenny Murphy with Patrick, the two new bells at St David's Cathedral

 

Meet David and Patrick

 

 

David and Patrick arrived at the Cathedral on 30 October. Greeted by friends old and new, television and press representatives, they were dedicated to their new service as part of the joyful proclamation of the God-focussed presence on the corner of Macquarie Street. David and Patrick are the first of the four new bells for the Cathedral tower. As two of the peal they will ring out with the sound of good news from the middle of next year.

Each has written his story:

My name is David

I weigh 1096kg (21 and a half cwt to bellringers) and I am tuned to the note of E. I will be the tenor bell (the largest) in the new peal of ten bells to be installed in this tower. I was cast in 1911 by John Taylor Bellfounders of Loughborough, England.

I was originally installed in a church in Eastbourne, Sussex, along with two other bells. We were supposed to be joined by five more to make a set of eight, but for some reason this didn't happen and we ended up not being rung very often.

Then the church (but not the tower) was destroyed by a bomb during the 1939-45 war and even though the church was later rebuilt, we were never heard again.

In 1997 I was sold, destined for a project in New South Wales; but this didn't work out either. Finally I got lucky: after a trip back to the foundry for some extra tuning it turns out that I am just right for St David's Cathedral in Hobart!

I have been donated by Douglas Nichols, tower captain of the cathedral bellringers.

My name is Patrick

I weigh 443kg (8¾ cwt to bellringers) and I am tuned to the note of A. I will be the number seven bell in the new peal of ten bells to be installed in this tower.

I was cast in December 2002 by John Taylor Bellfounders of Loughborough, England, specially for St David's Cathedral. I have been donated by Jennifer Murphy, a bellringer who lives in Melbourne. I am a memorial to my donor's mother and step-father, whose names are inscribed on me.

The words beneath the names are taken from the book of the prophet Micah (chapter 6 verse 8) which reads in part:

What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?

Footnotes from Douglas Nichols:

1. There will be twelve swinging bells in the tower in total, but they are not going to be a 'full peal of twelve bells' as is often quoted (as, for example, in St Paul's in Melbourne). They will be a ring of ten bells with two intermediates.
For those who are interested, this is discussed in more detail at: http://www.tassie.net.au/bells/appeal/fourmore.html - 10 or 12

2. There are also five chiming bells, bolted rigidly to a beam. They get used from time to time now, and they will continue to be used in the future, but are not part of our normal ringing activities. They don't count when we talk about a 'ring of ten' etc.