A History of the University Carillon
Uncovering for whom the bells toll.
April 18, 2021
The University Carillon — the bells in the Quadrangle — regularly rings out over campus, but few pay it much heed and fewer still know its history. Beyond the chiming of its bells lies a remarkable and contentious past which involved some of New South Wales’ most influential figures, and brought a Vice-Chancellor to the brink of resignation.
One of the most distinctive features of campus life is, in fact, a monument to the dead. The University Carillon is, formally, the University War Memorial Carillon — a memorial to the students, staff and alumni of the University who fought and died in the First World War. The outbreak of the war enraptured the newly federated Australia, with tens of thousands rushing to enlist. The University was no different, with some 1,800 students and graduates enlisting, 197 of whom would be killed over the course of the war. At a time when active annual enrolments totalled less than 2,000 during the war years, this was a significant number.