Wiki Wednesdays: Swan Bells

Already I've decided to warp this segment into a Perth (re)education opportunity as it seems we are surrounded by landmarks and buildings of historical significance but have no idea why!

Last week was guff on Greenwood Station but let take it up a notch - what about The Swan Bells

What: The Swan Bells (aka: The Bell Tower, that thing, WTF, pointy waste of money)
Where: Barrack St Jetty, Barrack St, Perth CBD
Why: The Swan Bells were supposedly built to commemorate the new millennium.
Who cares: Alot of people! The entire project was surrounded in controversy starting with a supposed 'vote' for it. No one seemed to know anyone who was asked to vote but apparently we all decided the Swan Bells project should go ahead.

In reality the project only cost 5.5m and successfully started an image for the city shoreline. Visitors to the Swan Bells have extended beyond 1million so @ $11 entry its already paid for itself anyway. On top of that, they rent a little bit of it to BOCS ticketing so all the hoop-lar about costs were all for nothing.

Anything Else: The tower itself houses 18 bells, 12 of which were donated to WA in from England in 1988 to commemorate the bicentenary. The bells have a combined weight of around 9t and when playing cause considerable force on the stability of the structure. While it may look fragile, it has been carefully designed using spokes and columns around the spire axis set in re-enforced concrete cast in situ.

As there isn't a volume knob on a bell, the structure itself contains sound proof glass louvres which can direct the 'music' toward the city/river/nowhere when required.

If you want to know more, check out the real Wiki article link below. The history of the 12 english bells date back to the 14th century so if your interested its worth a read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Bells

Class dismissed

P.S. The 'Perth Wheel' which was alongside it was run by a private company, not run by the City of Perth (COP). Despite the common perception the COP didn't drop the ball causing it to be removed. The owners wanted another 5 year lease but as that would run into the upcoming foreshore development project the COP counter offered a maximum 3 year lease. This was declined for some reason and the wheel was removed.
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