Great Bells of Asia and the Pacific Rim

Here are listed 16 existing and former Western-profile great bells of Asia and the Pacific Rim, in descending order by weight.  The list includes qualifying bass bells of carillons, chimes, etc..  The format of each entry is explained in a key at the bottom of this page.

A companion page lists Oriental-profile great bells in the same region.

Bells in italics no longer exist.
[None such currently listed for this region.]

1.   Mingum sull'Irravaddy, Burma - ~176,000 to ~198,000 lbs

• "name"?, pitch?, ~90000 kg or ~88 tons, maker?, 1790
• Mingum sull'Irravaddy / Mingoon / Mingun (near Mandalay), Burma
• Western profile but without soundbow, and therefore listed both here and on the companion page.
  About 366 cm high and 495 cm diameter.
  May be the largest soundable bell in the world.
• Links:
  > Illustrated page about the world's three largest bells (this was #2), from russianbells.com
  > Where this bell lies in the total sequence of output of the unidentified bellfoundries.

2.   Gotenba City, Japan - ~79,900 lbs

• (un-named), G#00, 36250 kg, Eijsbouts, 2006
• Tokinosumika Park
• Hung in a freestanding frame, and rung by hand
  Diameter 382 cm
• Links:
  >
  

• "Peace" (Rangimarie), D#, 12.25 tonnes or 12,500 kg, Eijsbouts, 1995
• National War Memorial tower
  Buckle Street
  Mount Cook
  Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
• Bass bell of the carillon, made under subcontract from Whitechapel; diameter 272 cm; cast to Gillett & Johnston profiles and with G&J bronze mix and decorations; 
  was the largest bell ever cast in the Netherlands up to that time; because it exceeded the capacity of Eijsbouts' furnaces, it was actually cast at the NV Lips foundry for ship propellors.
  Report of 12500 kg is believed to have been the pattern weight;
  report of 12.25 tonnes may have been the actual cast weight;
  report of 26292 lbs (11926 kg) may be the tuned weight.
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

4.   Taejon, Korea - ~24,000 lbs

• (Hour bell), D#, almost 11000 kg, Petit & Fritsen, 2002
• Hyechon College
  Taejon (Daejon), Chungchong, Korea
• Independent of the 77-bell carillon in the same tower.
• Links:
  >
  > Where this bell lies in the total sequence of output of the Petit & Fritsen bellfoundry.

5.   Pan-ay, Philippines - ~20800 lbs

• "Dakong Linganay", pitch?, 10.4 ton, Juan de la Reina (Iloilo), 1878
• St.Monica Church
  Pan-ay, Capiz, Philippines
• Was made "using 70 sacks of coins" (which makes the quoted weight rather suspect!)
• Links:
  > The homily for the dedication of the bells of the Church of the Gesù in Quezon City included a description of this bell.
  > photo of bell > Where this bell lies in the total sequence of output of the miscellaneous bellfoundries.

6.   Wellington, New Zealand - ~18400 lbs

• F, 8.2 tonnes, Eijsbouts, 1995
• National War Memorial tower
  Buckle Street
  Mount Cook
  Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
• #2 bell of carillon; made under subcontract from Whitechapel, to Gillett & Johnston profiles and with G&J decorations and bronze mix.
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

7.   Taejon, Korea - ~17,000 lbs

• F, est. 17000 lbs, Petit & Fritsen, 2002
• Hyechon College
  Taejon (Daejon), Chungchong, Korea
• Bass bell of the 77-bell carillon
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

8.   Wellington, New Zealand - ~15680 lbs

• F#, 7 tonnes, Eijsbouts, 1995
• National War Memorial tower
  Buckle Street
  Mount Cook
  Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
• #3 bell of carillon; made under subcontract from Whitechapel, to Gillett & Johnston profiles and with G&J decorations and bronze mix.
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

9.   Shanghai, China - 13776 lbs

• "Great Ching", 366Hz, 120-2-0, Taylor, 1927
• Custom House
  Shangai, China
• Hour bell of a five-bell clock chime; whether they still exist is unknown.
  The English inscription on one side of the bell is matched by its Chinese equivalent on the other side.
• Links:
  >
  

10.   Wellington, New Zealand - ~13400 lbs

• G, 6 tonnes, Eijsbouts, 1995
• National War Memorial tower
  Buckle Street
  Mount Cook
  Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
• #4 bell of carillon; made under subcontract from Whitechapel, to Gillett & Johnston profiles and with G&J decorations and bronze mix.
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

11.   Taejon, Korea - ~12,000 lbs

• G, est. 12000 lbs, Petit & Fritsen, 2002
• Hyechon College
  Taejon (Daejon), Chungchong, Korea
• #2 bell of the 77-bell carillon
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

12.   Wellington, New Zealand - 11929 lbs

• G#, 11929 lbs, Gillett & Johnston, 1929
• National War Memorial tower
  Buckle Street
  Mount Cook
  Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
• Original bass bell of carillon (now #5)
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

13.   Sydney, Australia - 10976 lbs

• (hour bell), A, 98-0-0, Taylor, 1890-1
• General Post Office
  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• Part of a 5-bell clock-chime designed by Lord Grimthorpe, and thus presumably of very heavy profile (which is consistent with the relatively high pitch for its weight).
  The accompanying clock was supplied by Joyce of Whitchurch.
• Links:
  > A local history page describes the bells.
  > Where this bell lies in the total sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry.

14.   Taejon, Korea - ~10,000 lbs

• G#, est. 10000 lbs, Petit & Fritsen, 2002
• Hyechon College
  Taejon (Daejon), Chungchong, Korea
• #3 bell of the 77-bell carillon
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

15.   Sydney, Australia - 8800 lbs

• G#, 8800 lbs, Taylor, 1928?
• University of Sydney
  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• Bass bell of a carillon;
  was ordered as early as 1925, but the actual casting date is not yet known.
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

16.   Taejon, Korea - ~8500 lbs

• (Hour bell), A, est. 8500 lbs, Petit & Fritsen, 2002
• Hyechon College
  Taejon (Daejon), Chungchong, Korea
• #4 bell of the 77-bell carillon
• Links:
  > For more details and links see the site data page for the carillon.

nr.   City, Country - EquivalentWeight lbs

• "name"?, pitch?, reported weight?, maker?, year?
• Institution name and address
• Remarks
• Links:
  >
  

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This page was created 2006/11/15, and last revised 2007/12/12.

Please send comments or questions to csz_stl@swbell.net