Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: When was the Number 470 Fire Bell created?
Number 470 Fire Bell is a heritage-listed fire bell at 56 Suttor Street, West Bathurst, Bathurst Region, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John C. Wilson and built in 1855 by Gorbals Brass and Bell Foundary, Glasgow. It is also known as Sydney Insurance Companies Fire Bell and Bathurst Fire Bell. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 11 July 2014.[1]
The name of Bown (spanning two generations) occupies a significant place in the history of firefighting in New South Wales and has a historical association with No. 470 Bell, as does the Insurance Companies Fire Brigade.
'... The bell can be rung by means of the apparatus by which it is swung, or by means of a rope attached to the clapper. In this way a difference of tone is expected to be obtained, which Mr Bown intends to make available for indicating the position of a fire, for the benefit of the other fire brigades, should the tone not prove sufficiently distinct by the method of ringing the bell, then it is proposed to indicate the position of the fire by striking the bell a certain number of times per minute, according to a preconcerted (sic) arrangement. Attached to the tower, and rising far above it, is a pole, on which a red light will be exhibited as soon as a fire has been discovered, and which light will continue to be exhibited till the fire is extinguished. The expenses consequent on the purchase of the bell, and the placing it in the present position, is to be borne by the united Fire Insurance Companies. The bell was christened on Wednesday evening by Mr Dyer, of the Sydney Insurance Company ...'.[2]
During the restoration of the bell to the Bathurst Fire Station in 2007-2010 the bell was painted black and the manufacturers inscription was painted white. Having been manufactured by Gorbals Brass and Bell Foundary it is likely to be cast in brass, the paint would need to be scraped off to confirm this.[1]
The Number 470 Fire Bell is an unpolished, 26 inch (66cm) Turret Bell of 350 lbs and 12 oz (159kg). It bears the inscription; "John C. Wilson, Glasgow; 1855". The bell is installed in the remnant original Bathurst fire bell tower. The bell and tower were restored in 2010 by the Bathurst Fire Brigade volunteers.[1]
Thus, Number 470 Bell has been restored to a firefighting context. Its association with the firefighting community of NSW has been re-established. It is an association that commenced in 1857, with Superintendent Thomas Bown, in Sydney.[1]
Like the bell in San Francisco, Sydney's new bell was intended to be a city-wide signal bell for all three brigades:
Unfortunately, once again the bell's performance was adversely affected; and once again it came under criticism. Bathurst's officer in charge complained that the bell could not be heard, and concluded that it was "not a good ringing bell". It was suggested that the bell might be replaced by a "stock bell" and the cost recouped by melting down the old bell and selling the metal to a dealer. The Board of Fire Commissioners sought a report from the Resident Country Inspector, who noted:
In 1884, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade replaced the Insurance Companies Fire Brigade, leasing the Bathurst Street fire station from Charles Bown. From that time on, there was no longer any need for a large bell to summon firemen. The firemen of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade were "full-time" firemen. They lived at the fire station; and they were on duty twenty-four hours a day - seven days out of eight! Moreover, the bell was no longer needed as a signalling device to direct the neighbouring volunteer companies to a fire, for telephonic communication had been established between them and the MFB. Thus, by 1887, Number 470 Bell had outlived its usefulness in Sydney, and so Charles Bown (now the Chairman of the new Fire Brigades Board) sold the bell to the Bathurst Fire Brigade Board (probably in time for the official opening of the new Bathurst Fire Station, in June that year).[1]
In June 1963, with the demolition of the Williams Street fire station imminent, Number 470 Bell was removed from the belltower. Records indicate that, three weeks after Council's request to have the bell made available for its historical exhibition, Bathurst District Historical Society made a similar request to the Board. The Board Secretary informed the Society that it had already given approval to the council's request and suggested that the Society contact Council. It appears that the bell was subsequently handed over to the Society by Bathurst Council soon after its removal from the old station. Mr Doug Humphries (son of former resident volunteer fireman, Kevin Humphries), resided in both the Williams Street and George Street Fire Stations as a child. He recalls the bell being in the possession of the Bathurst Historical Society at No. 1 George Street:
On 29 June 1962, the Bathurst Shire Clerk wrote to the Board of Fire Commissioners with a request concerning the bell:
The Council's resolution, however, does not appear to have been acted upon and Mr Bown's "large bell" disappears from the records until June 1860, when the Insurance Companies Fire Brigade christened its - "new fire bell". The cost of this bell had been borne by the various insurance companies rather than by Council, and various representations were made concerning its possible location. It appears, however, that Thomas Bown (who had been instrumental in both the purchase and the erection of the bell) had the final say concerning where it would be erected:
Number 470 Bell is of state significance for its association with an historically significant figure in the development of the fire service in NSW. Thomas Bown, who imported and sold the bell to the Insurance Companies Fire Brigade, was one of the first professional firemen in NSW. He established and headed the Insurance Companies Fire Brigade from 1851 to 1867. It is also significant for its association with the Insurance Companies Fire Brigades prior to statutory fire control in NSW and for its long standing association with the NSW Fire Service from its inception in 1884 to the present day.[1]
It has rarity values as likely the largest and oldest, UK manufactured bell, four times the size of normal fire bells at the time, remaining in the Fire and Rescue NSW collection, and also in the context of its long working life at Bathurst Fire Station.[1]
The bell is one of the very few fire alarm bells from the period predating statutory fire control in NSW, the history of its use provides a clear insight into methods of fire alarming prior to statutory control and modern telecommunication systems making it of State heritage significance.[1]
'... a large call bell was purchased from Messrs. C.J. Bown & Co., this bell had seen service in Sydney for some years with the Insurance Fire Brigade under their Superintendent Mr Charles Bown, and is still at Bathurst'.[7]
In being positioned in the new tower, Number 470 bell commenced a new stage in its career; however, it wasn't always considered to provide satisfactory service. The bell first called Bathurst Brigade to action, on 17 August 1887, to a fire at the Peers' Newmarket Hotel in William Street; however, it appears that the "belfry" badly affected the performance of the bell. Two months later it was observed that:
The integrity of the bell is high.[1]
'... the Board has approved the old fire bell being handed over to your council for display in its Historical Exhibition on a permanent loan basis'.[14]
Number 470 Fire Bell was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 11 July 2014 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]
Unfortunately, it appears that, over the ensuing nineteen years past mistakes were forgotten, and were destined to be repeated. In 1916, Number 470 Bell once again came under criticism for its performance, and narrowly escaped being melted down and sold. Bathurst Volunteer Fire Brigade had come under the control of the newly-instituted Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW in 1910. Unlike its predecessor, this Board had state-wide jurisdiction over fire protection. Accordingly, the Bathurst Fire Brigade Board was dissolved, and all property belonging to that Board was vested in the Board of Fire Commissioners. By 1916, the bell had become "too heavy to work on account of the long pulling ropes, and their leads".[10] It was therefore recommended that the bell be lowered from the tower to the yard. The new Board apparently had no knowledge of the earlier acoustics problems experienced in earlier times, for the recommendation was adopted. The Board Secretary noted in 1916: "the fire bell, which weighs it is understood in the neighbourhood of 4 cwt., is hung on uprights a few feet from the ground".[11]
Number 470 Fire Bell, installed in remnants of the original Bathurst bell tower, is of State heritage significance for its historic values, as the first large bell used to establish a centralised fire alert system in Sydney and NSW. It was made in 1855 at Gorbels Foundry in Glasgow.[1]
Mr Humphries' recollections concerning the bell's location during the mid-1960s are congruent with a comment made by the Western Advocate at the time of the bell's restoration to the current Bathurst Fire Station, in 2010. This newspaper stated that Bathurst Historical Society had "salvaged the original No. 470 bell, which had been found hidden under a wisterias (sic) bush at No. 1 George Street" (WA 8/11/2010 online). This is also consistent with a statement contained in a subsequent loan agreement (between the Bathurst Historical Society and Fire & Rescue NSW), which indicates that the bell had been on display in the grounds of the Old Government Cottage since 1965, and that it had been mounted on a steel frame. (The grounds of Old Government Cottage are in Stanley Street, at the rear of No. 1 George Street).
The Number 470 Fire Bell is of State heritage significance as likely the only large, UK manufactured bell, four times the size of normal fire bells at the time, remaining in the Fire and Rescue collection (documented in its Heritage and Conservation Register). A small number of Fire Stations retain bells but these are smaller, common cast bells made in Australia dating from a later period. It is also rare at the local level for the length of its working life at Bathurst Fire Station.[1]
'This evening, at five minutes past seven, the fire bell in George-street sounded the alarm, and at the same instant I perceived the Insurance Company's engine ... having already departed. The fact is, and this is not the first time I have observed it, they get the fire engine ready, and when it has fairly started they sound the alarm for the volunteer companies to follow them ... Surely the public will see the vital necessity of having their own fire bell somewhere, say, for example, in the yard of the Central Police Court'.[4]