The National Carillon is a large carillon situated on Queen Elizabeth II Island in Lake Burley Griffin, central Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The carillon is managed and maintained by the National Capital Authority on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia. It has 57 bells, ranging nearly 5 octaves from the 6,108 kg (13,466 lb) bass bell in F# to the 8 kg (18 lb) treble bell in D.
National Carillon in 2016
National Carillon bells
Hot air balloon over Lake Burley Griffin, showing the National Carillon
The carillon keyboard
A carillon ( KARR-ə-lon, kə-RIL-yən) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are cast in bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniously together. They are struck with clappers connected to a keyboard of wooden batons played with the hands and pedals played with the feet. Often housed in bell towers, carillons are usually owned by churches, universities, or municipalities. They can include an automatic system through which the time is announced and simple tunes are played throughout the day.
A carillonneur plays the 56-bell carillon of the Plummer Building, Rochester, Minnesota, US
The 56-bell carillon of Saint Joseph's Oratory, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Console of the carillon at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Cholet [fr] in Maine-et-Loire, France
View of the bells and transmission system of the 49-bell Aarschot Peace Carillon [nl] in Belgium