By Joy Gothe
As the Lilydale township developed, the need for a fire brigade, and a fire alarm system was desperately needed.
In 1904, newspapers reported yet another disastrous fire, the second for the year, which broke out at 2 o’clock on Saturday morning.
When the alarm was given by the cries of “fire” and the ringing of the Church of England bell, it was usually the only way to let the community know of the danger.
This fire had broken out in a drapery shop in Main Street and before it could be extinguished it had engulfed the two-storeyed Colonial Bank next door and threatened the next-door Crown Hotel.
Up to 150 people were involved in trying to control the fire.
Obviously, a lot of time was wasted when someone had to run up to Castella Street to ring the church bell so the push for an urgent fire bell began.
The fire bell tower, which used to stand proudly near the Lilydale Band Rotunda in Main Street, was erected in 1906.
The Country Fire Brigade Board let a tender for £16, to Messrs Brown and McClure of Warrnambool for the erection of a steel tower for the Lilydale brigade’s fire alarm bell which came from Sale in Victoria, work on the tower commenced almost immediately.
Now the bell could be rung to alert shopkeepers and residents to attend to any fire much faster.
Subsequently, when World War I had ended, and Madame Melba, who was one of the only people with privilege to own a telephone in the area, received the news, she took the initiative to rush from Coombe Cottage to Lilydale, even though it was the middle of the night, and rang the new fire bell continuously to tell the community that the war had finally ended.
The bell tower served the community well, but later the bell was removed from the tower and erected at the old fire station.
It now has pride of place swinging proudly at the front of the entrance to the current fire station in Main Street.
Just recently in December last year at the ‘Lilydale Melba Festival and Street Fair’, the now significantly historical Fire Bell was rung as a tribute to Dame Nellie Melba and a reminder to the community of the Bell’s past history.
If you are interested in discovering more stories about the history of Lilydale visit Lilydale and District Historical Society’s website at lilydalehistorical.com.au or email: info@lilydalehistorical.com.au
