The bells arrived in late August 1889, and were installed for the dedication service Friday, November 15 at 11am and used to farewell the then Governor of Victoria Sir Henry Loch on that same day. The bells have been used since this time to ring for church services and civic occasions.
The Cathedral has one of the few peals of thirteen bells outside the British Isles. The bells were donated by Mr Thomas Dyer Edwardes, whose father had been a landowner in Victoria. The bells were cast in 1889 by the Mears and Stainbank foundry at Whitechapel, London. The total weight of 7 tons 3 cwt made them the heaviest ring from that foundry in the 19th Century and is the world’s second oldest complete ring of 12 bells.
The bells are a peal of 12 in C# with an additional G natural bell, so that a light 8 in G# can be rung as well as heavy 8, 10 or 12 bells in C#. The treble bell note is G# (1661 Hz).
The tenor bell bears the inscription:
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
Thomas Dyer Edwardes
Donator 1889