Town Hall’s historical clock hit by vandals
Victorian metal face dials removed, possibly sold for scrap
The metal faces of the four dials on the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality Town Hall’s heritage site antique clock have mysteriously disappeared.
This raises questions about the fate of the more than 100-year-old cast iron clock’s mechanism, which was donated by Queen Victoria and housed just beneath the clock.
Guards Watch Repair Centre horologist Claude Smith, who cared for the clock for more than 20 years and was the last person to wind it before the fire in January 2022, suspects that vandals stole the metal faces.
Smith said: “The date on the machine indicated that it was manufactured in 1897 in London.”
He said before he realised the clock’s faces had been removed, he and local businessman Simon Morris were planning to have the clock's movement placed in the local museum for its protection.
“We never imagined that the clock would be vandalised and stripped of its metal faces. It’s heartbreaking to think that such a historic and beloved piece of machinery could be dismantled and sold for scrap metal. It’s a real loss for the community,” the horologist said.
In 2001, Smith and his late father Fred were approached by former municipal manager Professor Bacela of the then Lukhanji Local Municipality to maintain the tower clock.
At the time, the clock had been out of service for about 15 years he recalls.
“My father and I repaired the clock, but it still required someone to wind it manually every day. We drew up a contract with the municipality, and I became the clock’s official ‘winder’.
“As a ‘skeleton clock’, the mechanism needed to be wound daily to keep it operating properly.”
He still has the key to the glass door that protects the clock from dust.
“Every morning, I would open my shop and walk to the Town Hall, to wind the clock between 7.45 and 8am.
“On weekends, I would start a bit later. The clock has to be wound once a day or it would stop. It could only run for 24 hours.”
The tower clock’s four dials allowed people from all over the town to see the time, he said.
During his weekends out of town, he would inform the officials and stop the clock for that period.
“They understood the clock’s
operation was a delicate process. It required someone with the proper skills and knowledge to wind and maintain it. I couldn’t just give the keys to anyone. I would inform the municipal officials and stop it temporarily for the duration of my trip,” Smith said.
A lot of his friends who knew that he was responsible for maintaining the clock would joke: “When the clock is not working we know Claude is out of town.”
“Knowing that I was helping to keep this historical timepiece running smoothly was what brought a great sense of pride and satisfaction.
“It felt good for me to walk down to the post office and see it working or at night and when I could hear its 3’o clock chiming. It was more than just a job to me — it was a passion.”
When the Town Hall building burned down, Smith’s world was turned upside down. He felt a deep sense of loss for the clock tower, which had been such a big part of his life.
He recalls getting a call that night from a friend who said: “Your clock is burning.” He saw pictures of the fire on social media, and it was like a punch to the gut. At 6.50pm, he got in his car and raced to the scene.
As he stood by to witness the flames that engulfed the building he noticed that the clock was still working.
“At 7.45pm, it was still chiming, but I couldn’t get up there to wind it.
“There was no way we could get there because of the staircase and the top floor had collapsed. Eventually, it ran down and stopped.”
Smith said he had been in the business of repairing antique watches for 42 years.
“I was in high school when my father gave me a watch, he would ask me to take it apart and to clean it and that is how it all started.”
But like many others, this trade was dying with the new age of technology.
“There aren’t that many of us in the trade.
“I am the only one who can still fix antique clocks in this entire region, there are very few of us in the Eastern Cape and SA.
“Sometime when we went into a seminar in Johannesburg there were only eight of us.
“We were told there were about 14 of us in the country.
“People are no longer interested in this type of trade, especially the younger generation; technology has brought in a lot of change.”
Before the Town Hall burned down, the former Frontier Museum curator was planning to take pictures of Smith winding the clock to be displayed in the museum. EMLM spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa said the municipality did not remove the clock.
“There was vandalism that occurred at the town hall and currently there is an issue between the municipality and the insurer. The two parties have not reached an agreement on the amount of money to be paid to the municipality. Further details will come out when that has been resolved,” he said.