First posted: 24 September 2026

WA Branch Practice in Bunbury


The stairs leading to the tower, with ringers

The Roman Catholic Cathedral in Bunbury, a couple of hours south of Perth, was opened in 2011. The original cathedral, in "Irish Gothic" style, dated from the twenties, but a tornado which hit the city in 2005 lifted it from its foundations and rendered it unsafe. It was therefore demolished and replaced by the present structure which was provided with a peal of eight cast by Eijsbouts (tenor 7-3-1). The bells are delightful to ring, despite difficult acoustics and the ringing room being rather hot in summer. Sadly there is no regular local band, and the bells are not rung very often, although there is an electronic chiming apparatus for use before services and at weddings.

The nearby Anglican Cathedral of St Boniface survived the tornado but still does not have a ring of bells. Some years ago a peal of eight was donated from London but the substantial cost of rebuilding the tower to contain them proved prohibitive.

On Saturday 12 September 2026 a good number of ringers converged on Bunbury from Perth and places in the South West for a a WAANZAB branch practice. After a check upstairs to make sure the bells were in good order ringing continued solidly for the morning, ranging from rounds and call-changes to doubles methods, Stedman Triples and Cambridge Major.

Kath Fenton, the Cathedral's ringing contact, organised a substantial lunch during which the Dean, Fr. Pierre, chatted to many of the ringers.

After lunch eight ringers stayed behind for a brisk quarter-peal of Grandsire Triples, which enabled Cameron Pepper to ring his first quarter peal on eight on a working bell.

WA ringers always enjoy their visits to Bunbury, and this day was no exception.

Tony Murray-Feist

latest first

2026

Sydney 12-bell Weekend - 12 October

Sydney Ringing School - 7 October

VIC ANZAB Branch Practice - 1 October

CCCBR Meeting 2026 - 29 September

WA Branch Practice in Bunbury - 24 September

St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Adelaide - Next step in sound remediation - 16 September

Using BellBoard - 11 September

Armidale Ringing Featured - 9 September

Handbell Practices - 5 September

A Peal with Footnotes - 3 September

Bridgetown Ringing Weekend - 1 September