Click here to hear an 8 inch Jones
Condamine bell. (.wma
file)
The bullock bell - symbol of the era when Australia's future
was carried on the beasts of burden.
Bells - top row: Pot, Kentucky
Bottom row: Clucket, Brass Success
|
The story of Australia's
European settlement and the pioneering era cannot be
known in fullness until one understands the
significance of the humble animal bell. These tools
allowed the settlers and drovers to manage their
herds and flocks in a land of open plains and
unfenced pasture. For almost two centuries, the
clunk, tinkle and knock of these bells connected man
and beast in a bond of interdependence. This website
is designed to assist the reader to appreciate the
significance of the bells as well as enhance the
book
Bells of the Australian Bush,
written by Donald Cooney, and Paul and Eleanor Knie.
The Condamine bell, shown at left, was made by A.H. Ormand.
We know this because it bears
the maker's stamp. There were a number of prominent makers
who marked their bells, however a vast number of other
unmarked bells also exist. These are known as 'cleanskins'.
Bells of this type were made by hundreds of individual
blacksmiths across the country and they vary in quality from
rudimentary to very good. The bell era in Australia started
with European colonisation and continued through the 1800s
until the early 1900s. Some bells still remain in use today,
but generally as novelty items or hanging from the belly of
a rodeo bull.
Samuel Jones was accredited with making the first Condamine
bell (the name derived from the Queensland town where he
lived at the time). His design was not completely original
as his inspiration was from what he had seen in his youth in
Britain. However, his bell was generally larger and more
suitable for the Australian conditions. Christy Andersen,
Fred Andersen, Alf Ormand, James Ormand and Alf Ormand Jnr,
Thomas Beckett, August Menneke, and Anthony Mongan
were just a few of the well known bell makers who marked
their bells with identifying stamps.
Bell shapes varied greatly, with the Condamines only one.
Kentucky, Texas, Pot, Clucket and Canister were other iron
bells that are common in collections today. Then
there were the brass bells and these came in many shapes and
sizes also. Most of these were imported from England where
the foundry industry was well developed in the 1800s.
Click here to continue reading
about southern bell makers.
|