Christ Church War Memorial TowerPrint Page

The tower was constructed as a Thank Offering for Peace and commemorates those who served in World War One.  On the 19th November 2017, a plaque was added to the tower as a dedication. 

The tower`s original design included six bells, one of which was installed in 1935.  The additional 5 bells were installed in the church and dedicated on Armistice Day 2018. The bells are known as the Peace Bells. 

The five new bells were funded as part of a Queensland Anzac Centenary grant project called The War Memorial Tower – a Thank Offering for Peace, which was organised through the Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane. Funding was also provided by the Commonwealth Department of Veterans’ Affairs, as well as parish and church supporters and donors.

Additional funding was received through the Armistice centenary Grants Program to install plaques which commemorate members of the parish who lost their lives in World War One. 

It was almost 100 years in the planning and delivery, but finally Bundaberg’s Christ Church has a complete set of ‘Peace Bells’ following the blessing by the Archbishop of Brisbane the Most Rev’d Dr Phillip Aspinall on Sunday.

Bundaberg’s Christ Church recently took delivery from Europe of the additional five bells, which joined the original lone bell (weighing 748kg) that was installed in 1935. The Peace Bells were dedicated by Archbishop Aspinall during Sunday’s Armistice Day Centenary Service, which was attended by over 150 people. The bells commemorate those who served our country in the First World War and rang out 100 times at the conclusion of Sunday’s service.

Work on Christ Church, Bundaberg started soon after the Great War and the church was opened and consecrated in 1927, including the construction of a War Memorial Bell Tower, which was originally designed for six bells.

Christ Church Parish Councillor Russell Cobb said the War Memorial Tower was always intended to house, and sound the peal, of six bells. “The Parish founders had a vision for the War Memorial Tower which included six bells as part of the design. For reasons that have been lost in the mists of time, the remaining five bells were never ordered or installed,” Mr Cobb said. “Construction of the walls, roof and tower commenced shortly after the end of the First World War to honour our servicemen and women, so it is fitting that The Peace Bells be dedicated on the Armistice Centenary exactly 100 years later. “With the centenary of the Armistice approaching, we saw an opportunity last year to dovetail the completion of the project with honouring those who served and died in the Great War.”

The five new bells were funded as part of a Queensland Anzac Centenary grant project called The War Memorial Tower – a Thank Offering for Peace, which was organised through the Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane. Funding was also provided by the Commonwealth Department of Veterans’ Affairs, as well as parish and church supporters and donors.

Mr Cobb said the bells were important to the Bundaberg community and were a symbolic and meaningful way to honour the region’s servicemen and women on the Armistice Centenary.

The design of the bells was done in the Netherlands, the hot metal work was done near Milan, Italy, and then they were shipped back to the United Kingdom for machining and tuning. Interestingly, the smallest of the bells was acquired ‘second-hand’ after being found and moved from a church in Hove, Sussex.

The six bells are all individually and symbolically named – Peace; Love; Faithfulness; Joy; Patience & Self-Control; and, Goodness, Gentleness & Kindness.
Anglican Focus, November 13, 2018. 

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