A real bell-ringer result

The alarm bell was raised on Monday 1 July when staff at St Ann’s Catholic Chapel noticed that the historic church bell that had been at the rear of the chapel had been stolen.

The bell was made by Murphy of Dublin, Ireland, and arrived in South Australia in 1866 where it was blessed in October 1866 at St Ann’s. The bell is constructed bronze, weighs approx. 110kg and measures about 70cm tall with a base of 60x60cm.

Following an investigation on Wednesday 3 July officers from the Southern District attended a Dover Gardens home and arrested a 42-year-old man. He was charged with being unlawfully on premises and theft. The man was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on 10 September.

Officers then ding donged at a number of scrap metal yards locating the bell at a Thebarton premises. The bell was recovered, unfortunately the ringer/clapper (thing-a-ma-jig in the middle) was not located.

Below is a picture of officers returning the bell to the rightful custodians!