Our Cold War hero - HMAS Ovens

For centuries past bells were used in ships to send signals around the vessel. The most common use was for timekeeping. What would happen was that the officer of the watch would have an hourglass that he would turn on each half hour. When the sand ran out the bell would be rung to indicate which part of the day’s six, four-hour watches was being marked.  For example, at half-past twelve the bell would be rung once, at one o’clock the bell would be rung twice, at half-past one it was rung three times so that at four o’clock the bell was rung eight times, then the cycle started again. Aboard ship times were measured from midnight onwards.

Ironically, in most vessels, the bell was never heard at midnight because that was in the ‘silent hours’. That is, between say, 22:00 and 06:00, as measured in the 24-hour clock, bells were not rung because most people on board were asleep. The ship’s bells were also rung in emergencies to get all hands on deck and in fog, to signal a warning to other vessels. You may be wondering why a mirror has been set up at the bottom of HMAS Oven’s bell. Well, if you have a look, you will see that the names of all of the crew’s children were engraved around the inside at the time of their christening. That is just one of the things which makes this bell unique.

HMAS Ovens undergoing treatment of its surface.
Credit: WA Museum