Future bright for Victoria Clock Tower
Christchurch’s heritage-listed Victoria Clock Tower is nearing the end of a six-month repair that will leave it with a fresh coat of paint, making it appear brighter.
Since February, the tower has been covered in scaffolding with protective white wrapping to protect it from the weather.
It stands in the city centre, at the intersection of Montreal, Victoria and Salisbury streets.
The council was undertaking ‘‘necessary architectural repairs’’ and routine maintenance on the tower said Rupert Bool, the acting head of parks for the Christchurch City Council. That work is due to finish next month and the budget for the work is $170,000, he said, adding that the final cost was not yet known because the work was ongoing.
Bool said the tower would remain ‘‘as per the original construction in appearance’’, but the paint and ornate detailing would get a refresh.
‘‘The colours are the same as the original. However, as the previous paint had faded, the fresh paint will make the clock look brighter in colour and cleaner,’’ he said.
The clock tower, built in 1860, has been considered a category 1 heritage place by Heritage New Zealand since 1985.
According to Heritage New Zealand, it was designed by Benjamin Mountfort to be placed on top of the original Canterbury Provincial Council Chambers, but it proved too heavy.
It was instead placed in the courtyard of those chambers for four years.
In 1864, the tower went into storage and was not used again until 1897, when the council of the day made it a monument for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.
It was erected on a stone base at the corner of Manchester, High and Lichfield streets, and it would remain there until 1930 – when it was shifted to its current position because it was seen as a traffic hazard.
Heritage New Zealand said the tower’s connection to Queen Victoria’s jubilee makes ‘‘explicit the link between colonial New Zealand and Victorian Britain’’.