CARILLON OPENED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21166, 26 April 1932, Page 11

CARILLON OPENED.

CEREMONY IN WELLINGTON.

MUSIC OF THE BELLS.

CHIMES HEARD OVER THE CITY.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —FRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, Monday.

The principal Anzac Day service in Wellington was the ceremony on Mount Cook this afternoon, when the National War Memorial Carillon was dedicated and opened by tho Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, after being consecrated by the Bishop of Wellington, Bishop Sprott. The ceremony was attended by thousands, and every vantage point in tho city and on tho near by hills was occupied. There was a great parade of returned soldiers and military and naval units. The carillon was formally handed over by Mr. 11. D. Bennett, chairman of the Carillon Society, and acceded on behalf of the people of New Zealand by the Governor-General, who lit the perpetual memorial lantern and gave the signal for the playing of tho National Anthem on the bells.

Tho great crowd was hushed as tho melodious chimes rang from the campanile. Later, tho carillon accompanied the singing of the hymn "0, God, Our Help in Ages Past." The carillonist was Mr. Clifford E. Ball, of Bourneville, England. The Mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Ilislop, presided at the ceremony, and tho Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, was among the speakers. In tho evening, a carillon recital was attended by a largo audience, and the soft music of the bells was carried by a southerly breeze over the city. STORY OF THE BELLS. SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SCHEME. NAMES AND INSCRIPTIONS. Wellington's carillon of bells is the consummation of a suggestion mado in 1925. the middle of 1926 an appeal was made to persons and institutions to donate bells in memory of particular individuals or sections of people. No fewer than 77 applications were received within one week. As the carillon was to consist of a scale of 49 bells, with a provision to extend the number to 53, the society had some difficulty in meeting this wonderful response. This difficulty was overcome by conceding all next-of-kin claims and applications by the New Zealand Expeditionary Force units, and merging other donors' claims in bells larger than those for which applications had been made.

During the campaign for funds for the erection of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum on the Mount, Cook site, a proposal was made to erect the carillon tower on that site. Those concerned in tlie National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum project welcomed the idea, and finally the combined scheme for Mount Cook was adopted through the Government providing £15.000 for the tower. This, however, only covered the erection of a skeleton tower to take the bells; and in order to complete the campanile, a loan was advanced by the trustees of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum. The tower cost £17,100, and the concrete and stone steps and approaches another £4OOO, in all £21,100. In accordance with well-established tradition in England and Europe, the whole of the bells in the carillon have been named and bear inscriptions on them. The object has been to impart a personality to each bell. The bourdon bell, of the first instalment of 49 bells, given in memory of the 1700 men of Wellington City and suburbs who gave their lives in the Great War, has been appropriately named "Reo Wairua," meaning "Spirit Voice," and underneath the dedication lines bears the words "Ana! lie Tangi Aroha," which, translated, means "Hark! A Cry of Love." This serves as an introduction to the whole carillon. This bell, in accordance with the tradition of all "bourdon" bells, is specially decorated, carrying a frieze of fern leaves and flax as New Zealand national emblems upon its shoulder. The next three great bells represent the three main theatres in which the New Zealand Expeditionary Force fought during the Great War, and are dedicated to the New Zealand Division, tho Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, in that order. They have been named "The Somme," "Anzae" and "Palestine," and carry appropriate quotations from the commanders under whom the respective units served. The fifth hell bears the aims of the Royal Navy, and is named "Jutland"; the seventh bell is called "The Seven Seas," and is dedicated to the memory of the British Mercantile M arine. The balance include the Civil Service bell, two district bells, six Expeditionary Force unit bells, and 32 next-of-kin belis.

The largest bell weighs four tons 19ewt. Iqr. 131b. The weight of the others ranges from over four tons downwards.