THERE’S a new sound ringing out in Sydney’s west – the pealing of eight enormous bronze bells from St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta.
After being destroyed by fire and rebuilt, and even in the difficult times of COVID isolation, the cathedral has been given a new lease of life after the bells rang out together for the first time on Christmas eve, 2020.
“I don’t think I can emphasise enough what a wonderfully uplifting sound it was for the people of Parramatta after such a tumultuous year,” St Patrick’s Cathedral dean Fr Peter Williams said.
Parramatta parish is described as the cradle of Catholicism in Australia, and there is a rich, historical story behind the installation of St Patrick’s new bells – dating back 167 years to 1853, when a remodeled original church (built in 1837) was expanded to accommodate a growing congregation of up to 600.
“There had always been the intention to install a peal of bells – and apparently a number of Catholics pledged to donate four bells at a dinner party with Cardinal Moran and Archdeacon Rigney in 1886,” Fr Williams said.
“For reasons unknown this didn’t come to be, but a single bell ‘St Patrick’ was installed in 1907.
“The catalyst for the recent bells project came with the devastating 1996 fire which, within minutes, destroyed the cathedral.”
Rebuilding St Patrick’s became a labour of love for Parramatta’s faithful, and while a new cathedral was dedicated in 2003, it was not until a few years later that the planners turned their attention to the long-dreamed-of peal of bells.
Generous donors provided $150,000 for the ambitious bell project to go ahead.
“Six of the bells were sourced from towers in the UK, and two were specially cast for the Cathedral,” Fr Williams said.
“The parishioners united with the Diocese of Parramatta to drive the project, aided in a large part by the networking and talents of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers.
“The Association sourced the bells, and their members personally ‘fitted’ the bells on a voluntary basis.
“As you can imagine, it was also a delicate engineering job to retrofit the hanging structures inside the historic tower.
“When you ask the Bellringers why they put in so many volunteer hours for the Cathedral, they will tell you with a smile what a thrill it is to be able to ring such a large peal of bells – it really does make them happy.”
Fr Williams said the next stage in the cathedral bell project WAs to recruit and train its own team of bellringers.
“We are aiming for about 15 recruits in total,” he said.
“Bellringing is certainly not as easy as it looks, so it may take a while for the team to get into place.
“Judging from the enthusiasm of the Association bellringers, it’s a lot of fun.”
The bells were blessed last September in a spectacular ceremony led by Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long.
The bells will peal for special Masses, for weddings when requested, and for special community occasions.
“And yes, I am on record saying that the bells will ring when the Parramatta Eels win a Rugby league premiership,” Fr Williams said.
Appealing for ringers
Bell towers around the world are always looking for new ringers, and that’s no different in Parramatta or Brisbane, according to the president of the Australia and New Zealand Association of Bellringers.
“There are about 450 ringers in all of Australia for its 63 towers, but only 25 ringers for the four towers in Queensland: St John’s Cathedral, St Andrew’s in South Brisbane, St Paul’s in Maryborough and Christ Church in Bundaberg,” ANZAB president Peter Harrison said.
“Bundaberg is Queensland’s newest tower as they were only installed in 2019.”
Mr Harrison said there was always interest and encouragement for anyone wanting to learn to ring bells.
“You don’t even need a lot of strength – all you need is a sense of rhythm,” he said.
“It can take around three months of learning before you start to ring with other ringers, and from then on you never stop learning.
“There’s something else for you to try, and we always try to improve the quality of our ringing.
“It’s a great mental exercise as well as a physical one. There’s also a great camaraderie amongst the ringers and there are opportunities to meet ringers from around Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the world once things open up again.
“St Patrick’s in Parramatta is in a fortunate position where there’s another bell tower only 600m away.
“While the churches are cross-denomination that doesn’t stop ringers from helping out at each other’s churches.
“A number of ringers in Brisbane ring at both St John’s Cathedral and St Andrew’s.
