If you don’t hear God’s call, there’s a fair chance you’ll hear the bell, in Cohuna at least! The 1915 brass beauty produced by John Danks and son belts out a solid sound that could be heard for miles. Danks bells were known for being aboard Navy vessels, and as in this case, were used for calling in the Sunday Flock.

Sunday’s Cohuna Anglican service witnessed the blessing of the bell, which, like the lost sheep, found its way back to the shepherd. The bell was kindly donated back to the church from local resident Tanya Black, who had purchased an old manse.

“When we bought the house, it had the church beside the house, and my house was actually the church manse.” Through the subdivision prior to Tanya’s purchase, some of the land was incorporated into St Mary’s School, but the tower and bell remained in the backyard.

“The kids weren’t real happy about the bell going, they loved having parties and ringing the bell for the neighbourhood,” said Tanya.

“Hopefully, the church gets years of enjoyment out of it.”

With the donation of the bell, a team of dedicated workers set about repairing the stand and attaching new feet to securely mount it in place. Funds donated to the church from the late Mary Peace enabled the work to be carried out.

“We’ve dedicated it today for God’s service to ring out through the community.” said a thrilled Rev Sue Allen.

“Now, there is some conversation around how many times to ring it. There is a tradition within the forefathers of the church, that you should ring it 33 times for communion, and only 12 times for morning prayer. Personally, I think, once or twice.”

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 17 July 2025.