User:Merlene coates-freeman/Condamine Bell

The Condamine bell is an Australian cowbell first created in 1868 by Welsh blacksmith Samuel Jones, a, who came to Condamine, Queensland in around 1865. He forged the bellswith an old pit saw blade when he was short of the usual materials required; it was initially referred to as a Bullfrog Bell or Jones Bell. Jones only used a certain type of wood to fire his forge; it is thought that this added to the timbre of the bell. He moved to Brisbane in 1876 and continued to produce the bells at his forge in Toowong until he retired in 1912 and was succeeded by his assistant Alf Ormond.

The tradition of making Condamine Bells was taken up by blacksmith Christy Anderson, whose bells are distinctly stamped 'C.Anderson' and worth up to AUD$5000 today. Anderson's son Fred continued to produce bells in Brisbane. Anderson's smithy is now a part of the Miles Historical Village.

The Condamine Bell Campdraft is one of the three main campdrafting events in Australia.

In 2004, the bell was named by the National Trust of Queensland as a Queensland Icon.