DR BARNADO'S BELLRINGERS
Towards the end of 2001 an elderly lady donated the following photograph to the tower bell ringers of St. Paul's, Geelong:
Apart from the fact that it belonged to her grandfather (who was a bell ringer) she could tell us nothing. I decided to try and find out more about it. A useful clue was provided by the genealogy section of the State Library of Victoria who told me that the photographers Webb & Webb operated in Melbourne between 1890 and 1898. After many hours searching through old newspapers I unearthed the following information:
In 1891 the Rev. W.J.Mayers toured the Australian colonies giving a lecture on the work of the Dr Barnado's Homes in London and appealing for donations. The boys who accompanied him provided musical entertainment before and after the address. As well as the handbells (a 75 bell set according to an advertisement in the Melbourne Age) they played the bugle and the bagpipes, and a duet between dulcimer and violin. The Rev. Mayers illustrated his talk with lantern slides. These included pictures of very young babies before and after they were taken in by Dr Barnado's. (After these were shown there was not a dry handkerchief in the house!) They did an extensive tour of South Australia from May to July 1891, came to Melbourne and appeared in the Town Hall on 31st July then in numerous suburban venues up until 26th August. In September they visited Ballarat and Geelong. Here is part of a report from the Ballarat Star of 15th September 1891:
"A public meeting was held last night in the Academy of Music in connection with Dr. Barnado's rescue work amongst the waifs and strays of London. (On stage were) the boys from the homes in their handsome band uniforms..…. The boys then played a selection upon the handbells…… At the close of his address one of the boys gave the bugle calls used at the homes. This was followed by selections on the Scotch bagpipes by three of the boys, who played very well. Another selection on the handbells, beautifully rendered, concluded the programme."
A few weeks after I had researched this story we discovered that the National Library in Canberra had recently added a postcard depicting the Dr Barnado's bellringers to the David Elliott Collection of Theatrical Postcards. The picture is not the same as ours, but similar. Other instruments in addition to the bells are displayed on the table: banjos, mandolins and flutes. There are 6 boys in the picture an another gentleman, Mr H. Aaron who was their instructor. On the back of the postcard the following information appears:
Dr Barnado's Musical Boys
These lads with their instructor Mr H. Aaron are assisting at the meetings held by the Rev. W.J. Mayers in aid of the Homes. The selections on the handbells, mandolins, cornet etc. give evidence of their careful training. The Director has granted them a special holiday and they are making this tour before going to situations. Contributions for the good work will be gratefully received by Rev. W.J.Mayers (Sen. Dep. Sec.) c/o any G.P.O. in the capitals of the Australian states or the chief cities of New Zealand.
Seventeen years later, in 1908, the Rev Mayers returned to Australia with another group of bell-ringing boys (10 in all) for a second lecture/fund-raising tour. This time they brought a larger variety of musical instruments. As well as the handbells, bagpipes, dulcimer and cornet they also played the xylophone, glockenspiel and sleigh bells. The photograph at the beginning of this article probably goes with the first tour whereas the National Library's postcard picture goes with the second tour.
Gwyn Gillard © 2002
Webmaster: Drew Sullivan - webmaster@handbells.org.au