The Bell Tower

Interesting small exhibit on the bells and the walk up to the top is really nice. The views from the top were stunning — with the exception of the jetty building site, which, to be fair, they cannot do anything about!
We visited during the Perth Open Day so entry was free but would have been a little disappointed if we had paid — $ 14 for adults and we were only there for half an hour. Depends on your budget.

We visited as part of Perth’s Open House event so were able to get in for free. An interesting place, good views (away from the building site). We were in and out within 30 mins and read all the info, saw all the levels. Not sure it would be worth full price!

As part of the WA Day long weekend the bell tower opened their doors on the Monday for free entry from 10am — 4pm. Keep an eye out for these freebie tours as the price is normally $ 14 adults and $ 9 for children and concession tickets.
This was my first time visiting the bell tower since it opened in 2000. It was nice to take our time and wander up the tower, looking at the exhibitions, learning some of the history of the bells and how they came to be in Perth. It is also the home of Australia’s oldest bell which was cast over 450 years ago and originally from England. Whilst climbing the stairs to the top we were lucky enough to hear the ringing of the bells and watch the volunteers practicing their art through the glass windows.
There are 6 levels to the tower, well 7 if you include the entry foyer —
Entry level — tubular bells, Mark Creasy Turret Clock and gift shop
Level 1 — Bellringing chamber
Level 2 — Viewing gallery for bellringing & exhibition displays
Level 3 — Patrons toilet
Level 4 — Belfry with close up viewing of the St Martin-​in-​the-​Fields bells
Level 5 — The Mark Creasy Turret clock bells
Level 6 — Open air observation deck, steel walkway with 360 degree view and a coin operated telescope
There is also a fixed structure of chains where you can purchase ‘Love Locks’. These are padlocks which you can buy and inscribe a message to your loved one. These locks originating from China are a symbol of a couple’s eternal love. Love Locks are $ 30 and includes engraving of two names and a date, extra ingraving incurs an additional fee.
I took off two stars as we had to line up for an hour before getting into the tower and the surrounding area is a mess due to the construction of Elizabeth Quays. If you’re visiting on a free day, be sure to get there early as they didn’t have time limits for people once inside.

Nice building to look at in Perth

The Bell Tower is a Perth sight-​seeing to do. People have mixed feelings on it; «Oh it’s a waste of money», «But the bells sound so cool». Either way, it’s part of Perth’s foreshore and one of our must-see’s in town. It’s right by the jetty, so if you’re visiting you’ll most likely be coming down here at some point anyway, so go stand by the jetty get your picture taken, climb the stairs, enjoy the view and hear the bells. Ticked off the list, you’ve done it. It wasn’t really a waste of money, combined with everything else along the foreshore, it’s a nice feature. It has good memories for a lot of people who have visited or are living here, and it’s an interesting concept, better to do it than not. And on hot days there is the surrounding pool and fountain where kids run in and out of to keep cool… or for people like me and my friends to come and dance in and sing the «Friends» theme tune.

I was absolutely fascinated to come across The Bell Tower whilst doing a self tour of Perth city. The tower has to be seen in day and night, as it offer a myriad of colours at night which is magnificent, especially when you’re looking over the Swan River at sunset.
As luck would have it, we kept missing the bell ringing times as we kept heading to the city past 2pm. So, if you’re looking to hear what it sounds like, be sure to be there weekday –weekend from noon to 1pm.
Alternatively, listen to the audio rings on their website.
It makes a fun and educational outing for the kids and I love it that it is one of the first thing you see when you drive across the freeway into the city.

The Bell Tower had the potential to be Perth’s centrepiece on the foreshore. A dazzling combination of modern architecture and bygone grace, in the form of the melodious English bells.
Instead, what we have gracing [or disgracing, depending on your perspective] the foreshore is an apologetic structure that, from a distance, appears like a cockroach molesting a stick insect. The bells have been dampened, to such an extent that their glorious ringing sounds pathetic.
The Bell Tower stands as a monument to what might have been.

I used to think the Bell Tower was a waste of tax payer’s money, and well, it kind of is. But I must admit my children and I love visiting them.
Seeing the Swan bells and climbing up the tower stairs is loads of fun and educational. Reaching the top, you see a beautiful city and a fantastic river view.
The building itself is interesting, as are the surroundings, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
I like to look over at the tower as I drive across the freeway. It is the Perth foreshore now, and it kind of belongs there. Imagine Barrack Jetty without a bell tower???
Parking is a bit of a problem sometimes, as it is a busy little area.

Perhaps not being jaded with the exposure to monotonous school excursions to see these bells, softened my oppinion. I found them to be fairly light hearted and fun to photograph.
You don’t so much go out of your way to see the bells in so far as happen to stumble onto them. I didn’t grow up in Perth, but am a proud local now and I still smile when I hear the bells chiming from the mall (Garden city.) I don’t have any affinity with those particular bells, bells in general make me happy so it’s a personl preference I suppose. (perhaps I was conditioned to like bells from an early age– growing up with ice-​cream vans???)
The Bell tower is mostly transparent and as you look up the stairs towards the bells you can get some really funky shots– if you’re a bit of a photo buff or a moment of creativity strikes you– head to the bell tower to experiment, the reflections off the mote that surrounds it are pretty cool too.
I didn’t pay the entry fee (also thinking it was a bit over priced) — but I didn’t have to climb he tower to appreciate it. While the bell tower may not compare to other world renowned towers, I’ll vouch for it as a photo opportunity if nothing else!

As a proud Perthian, I was quite upset when I learned that our local MP’s were planning on spending big bucks on some random building which would house some random bells. Even after participating in a program that required me as a primary school kid (at the time) to write my name in cement that would be laid in front of the bell tower, I was still unimpressed.
In a nutshell, this is a tower that is home to some special, antique bells. They ring sometimes, as bells do. Most school children have been dragged there to hear about the history of the bells, hear the bells ring, and find their names in the aforementioned cement. The actual tower was marketed to us as a piece of architecture that was comparable to other towers worldwide. I, off course, would disagree. It’s a fairly inexpensive trip, but in my opinion it’s not even worth the $ 13 price. Sorry…