The Bell Tower Home of the Swan Bells Perth

Experience One of the Most Historical and Fascinating Landmarks in Perth City

The Bell Tower is one of the essential places to go in Perth. This must-see attraction is located on Riverside Drive, overlooking the picturesque Swan River. Filled with fascinating historical content and boasting a unique and distinctive design – resulting from a major architectural competition – it has become an iconic landmark and tourist attraction for Perth and Western Australia.

Commemorating Australia’s bicentenary in 1988, the twelve bells of St Martin in the Fields along with five specially cast bells were presented to the University of Western Australia, the City of Perth, and to the people of Western Australia. The London diocese of the Church of England and the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields gave authority for the project to proceed. The additional bells cast in 1988 include two from the cities of London and Westminster, who each gifted one bell to the project, and a total of three bells bestowed by a consortium of British and Australian mining companies. Completing the ring of eighteen bells, a sixth new bell was commissioned by the Western Australian Government to mark the second millennium.

The Bell Tower includes the twelve bells of St Martin in the Fields, which are recorded as being in existence from before the 14th century and recast in the 16th century by Queen Elizabeth I. The bells were again recast between 1725 and 1770 by three generations of the Rudhall family, (bell founders from Gloucester, England) under the order of the Prince of Wales,  later crowned King George II. They are one of the few sets of royal bells and are the only ones known to have left England.

From one of London’s most famous churches, in Trafalgar Square, the St Martin-in-the-Fields bells have rung out to celebrate many historic events such as, England’s victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588, The World War II victory at El Alamein in 1942, ringing in the New Year at Trafalgar Square for more than 275 years, celebrating the coronation of every British monarch since King George II in 1727, the homecoming of Captain James Cook after his voyage of discovery in 1771. On his return to London in 1771, the bells of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, the bells of the admiralty, rang out to welcome back a hero of the Age of Discovery. This fact adds a distinctively Australian connection to the bells.