What are the bells

The Federation Bells is an installation comprising 39 upturned bells. Located in Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. The bells were created for celebrations for the centenary of Australia’s federation in 2001.

The Federation Bells were designed by Anton Hasell and Neil McLachlan in collaboration with Swaney Draper Architects.

Following a recent refurbishment, the bells are sounding better than ever: they can be heard daily 8-9am, 12.30-1.30pm and 5pm-6pm. More than 100 compositions have been created for the Federation Bells and many of them can be heard in an evolving weekly schedule.

The Federation Bells Composer is a ground-breaking website that lets you compose music for Melbourne’s Federation Bells. Using an intuitive drag ‘n’ drop timeline, create a virtual multi-track masterpiece using the 39 distinctive bells.

Location

The Federation Bells are located on the Middle Terrace of Birrarung Marr, in the centre of the park, between Federation Square and the William Barak Bridge (which provides access to the MCG):