Town celebrates return of the Post Office clock

June 22nd, 2012

The 75-year-old Post Office clock has finally returned to its original home on what is now the Guthrie Bowron building after a two-year project to restore it from a forgotten storage heap.

One of the people involved in the project, Motueka ward Councillor Barry Dowler who is also a Clock Tower Trust member, recalls the events that led to this point, as follows:

"When Post Office was officially closed, the clock was removed and fitted to a made-up pole and re-installed in front of the Motueka Museum. Unfortunately, the clock was regularly damaged by projectiles thrown at it, so when the Museum frontage was upgraded, the clock was removed and never put back. As far as the public was concerned, it disappeared.

"About five years ago, when I was on the Community Board (just before I was elected to Council), I spied a letter to a Council staff member from Betty Watson, of Hau Road, asking where the clock was and would Council track it down and put it back up somewhere.

"This started my interest in finding it, so every now and again I would try to find where it was. One day when talking with a Sicon employee I mentioned the clock, and he thought he had seen it in the old Council yard down the High Street extension, now Westhauls yard.

"I caught up with Barry Westrupp and asked if he had seen it. Yes, he said, there is an old clock on a pole down the back of the yard, against the fence - it may be the one. We went and had a look and in about 4 inches of mud lay this sad looking clock attached to this great long pole.

"He said he would deliver it to the back of my work later that afternoon. He did. It was so long, it stuck out the back of his longest trailer by about three feet. We unloaded it and set it on pallets in the corner of my land and a couple of days later I went and unbolted the clock from the pole.

"I brought it inside and started to clean the mud off to see what damage had been caused. Thankfully, the glass seals on the faces had held most of the moisture out, so after a couple of hours it started to look like a clock again.

"Euan Grant somehow found out that I had it at work. I had it mounted on to an engine support stand. He fronted and said he would like to restore it and see if it would still work. I said that would be great, let me know when you need work done and I will arrange it.

"He arrived with the empty steel casing a week or so later. I took it to Spectrum Paint and Panel to see if they could help. The owner, Gary Barrow, took the task on, had the housing sand blasted (courtesy of Motueka Tractor World and no charge for the work done), then Gary had his staff panel-beat, prime and paint the clock back to the original look.

"Bays Glass supplied new glass for the faces at cost price. Euan picked it up and took it home, put it back together and got both clock mechanisms working. Euan still has the original pendulum mechanism that used to drive the clock, but due to its sensitivity a heavy truck going past or the smallest of earthquakes would cause it to stop.

"The Motueka Clock Tower Trust had already decided to take this clock on as another project and finance any parts needed to make it work again. A digital controller was purchased for just under $3000 which is pre-programmed for 21 years for daylight saving and has an 18-hour backup for power outage.

"The Motueka Community Board gave $499 towards costs for placing it back on to the old Post Office building, and Willie Snowden has welcomed the clock onto the now Guthrie Bowron building and will supply the electricity for free to run the clock.

"Last Saturday, two Clock Tower Trust members, Nigel Duff and Barry Wratten, placed the clock back onto the side of the building where it used to be. In the near future, Abel Electrical will wire the clock through to the controller inside the building. When this happens, the Clock Tower Trust will have a get-together to officially turn the clock on.

"I wish to thank the following for their generous donations of equipment and labour and materials during the restoration of the clock: Euan Grant, Gary Barrow of Spectrum Paint and Panel, Motueka Tractor World, Nigel Duff, Barry Wratten, Motueka Hire for the use of the lifting platform at a discounted rate, Abel Electrical and Guthrie Bowron for their future support and of course the Motueka Community Board.

"Another town icon is back for the people to enjoy, hopefully for several years without any trouble. Thanks to the Trustees of the Motueka Clock Tower Trust, using their hard earned funds to buy the controller and daylight sensor to turn the lights on and off."

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