| HMAS Creswell clock tower – constructed between 1913-1914. The tower bell chimed in nautical chimes every half hour.
Between 1930 and 1958 the college was decommissioned for economic reasons and most of the buildings leased out as holiday accommodation. Somewhere during this time the original bell was removed and it’s whereabouts became unknown.
In the mid 1960’s the bell turned up at an engineering works owned by Mr Hopkins in Chatswood.
Mr Hopkins decided to take the bell home, where he had it mounted as a display in his foyer.
After Mr Hopkins died, his son held onto the bell for some time. The bell had faint markings that indicated it had come from the Naval Training College, Mr Hopkins contacted the historical officer at HMAS Creswell asking if the navy would like it back, a 50 year old mystery had been solved.
The markings were the initials of four 1914 entry cadet midshipmen who had gained entry to the tower and left their initials on the bell in what is thought to be some sort of crayon, the crayon has slightly etched into the bronze over time.
The bell was returned to the college, restoration was discussed, but it was decided to leave the bell as it was found, and is a valuable part of the navy’s collection at the college..
The bronze bell weighs between 200-300kg.
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