Clock goes hands free for repairs
Palmerston North’s clock tower is missing the hands on one of its faces, thanks to a broken-glass mystery that could stand the test of time.
City officials have removed the hands while repairs are made to the southeastern face, which has smashed.
Palmerston North City Council chief infrastructure officer Tom Williams said the clock tower’s hands sat on the outside of its faces, so they were removed while the broken glass could be taken out and repairs made.
‘‘A glass company is working on making a new face, which may take some time as it is a specialised piece of glass [and] the clock face is constructed from green tinted glass.’’
Williams said the council wasn’t sure how the glass was broken.
The other three faces are still showing the time.
Once the new face is ready, the council’s resident clock-keeper, Mike O’donoghue, will scale the tower to install it and put the hands back on.
It’ll be old hat to O’donoghue, who has kept the century-old clock tower ticking for more than 30 years.
Built in 1906, the Palmerston North landmark, in The Square, is a little brother to London’s Big Ben.
The Joyce Turret clock from Whitlow, England, mounted in the city’s tower is the same design, on a smaller scale, than the more famous clock tower.