Keeping on time
Tawa man Doug Tucker has the important role of ensuring Members of Parliament are always on time.
One of the only clock-makers and restorers in Wellington, Mr Tucker maintains the government clocks in Wellington, those at Parliament, the Speaker’s clock, and the clock on the facade of Victoria University’s Law School building.
The last time he fixed the main clock at Parliament was when it was striking the wrong number of hours, he said.
Mr Tucker does house calls as far as Palmerston North for timepieces in need of repair, from antique grandfather clocks to hanging pendulum clocks.
‘‘People don’t realise that a clock has to be serviced every few years, just like any other mechanical device,’’ he said.
Mr Tucker has had to deal with some obscure problems, such as fixing a Berhampore building-facade clock that has been stopped a few times by strong Wellington winds.
The clock expert did his formal apprenticeship in Wellington in 1970, training as a watch, clock and instrument-maker.
He lived and worked in the United States for a time as a clock restorer, and 15 years ago started his own business, The Time Shop, from a shed at his Tawa home.
From a life dedicated to the restoration of clocks, many would assume Mr Tucker had a passion for timepieces.
But for Mr Tucker, clocks are not particularly interesting – it was the mechanics that intrigued him, he said.
‘‘I have a fixing brain. Being able to do what other people won’t even bother to do – that’s the challenge, that’s what keeps me going.
He said working alone could sometimes be difficult.
‘‘ The reality is that most clock-makers go crazy, working alone forever,’’ he said.
He tried to counter that by finishing clock-repairing each day at 3pm, not working on Sundays, and constructing model ships in his spare time.
‘‘You have to have your creature comforts – they keep me sane.’’