After waiting in storage at the Australian War Memorial for two years, the Canberra Rotary Peace Bell will now live in a specially designed pavilion along the shores of the lake.

All peace bells are identical, cast Japanese temple bells made from the melted coins of different UN nations. They serve as a reminder of the lives lost in violence.

Canberra's 350 kilogram bell is the 23rd in the world, and the second in Australia.

On Friday, local religious leaders and school students watched on as Wiradjuri dancer and elder Duncan Smith performed a special welcome to country.

The Rotary Club of Canberra raised more than $120,000 to bring the bell to the capital, in a project that also marks the club's 90th anniversary.

"[The bell] tolls to remind us to unite in a call for peace – and perhaps there can be no greater time for that than right now," said Michael Rabey, who coordinated the project for the rotary.

The bell will usually be rung on World Peace Day on the third Tuesday in September each year but you can expect to hear its sound long into the weekend.

Members of the public are invited to ring the bell between 11am and 2pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Australia's only other peace bell lives in Cowra, NSW.