Time stands still in Kihikihi

A Waikato town frozen in time is about to get things ticking over again.

For more than two years, the Kihikihi town clock’s hands have been stuck at 1.31pm, plunging the rural town into a time-freeze.

The mechanical turret clock, manufactured in 1881, needed to be wound manually but efforts to keep it on time had stopped.

The clock proudly sits on top of the town’s war memorial building overlooking State Highway 3, at the northern entrance to Kihikihi, 35km south of Hamilton.

Residents unhappy about the time warp complained to their elected members and the matter appeared on the table at the Waipa¯ District Council’s long term plan hearing on May 13.

The council heard it was going to cost up to $70,000 to repair, upgrade and automate the clock, and to provide safe access to maintain it.

The council’s property manager Bruce Nunns said some upgrades to the building might be needed along with checks to detect and remove asbestos.

Te Awamutu Ward councillor Marcus Gower, who lives in Kihikihi, said the clock did not ‘‘fill you with inspiration’’ every time people looked up and it was 1.31pm.

‘‘Every day you go down the main street, look up at the clock and it’s not working.

‘‘We can’t leave this out [of the long term plan budget] for another three to 10 years to fix, that’s just ridiculous, it has to be done.’’

Waipa¯ Mayor Jim Mylchreest said he was worried about the high price ‘‘to fix a clock’’.

He said councillors had sat through three days of public submissions, many from community groups desperate for help to repair club houses, grounds and equipment.

Others needed to expand to accommodate the district’s growing population.

Mylchreest suggested the money was needed elsewhere but Gower said the clock was a gripe highlighted at a recent Kihikihi community meeting.

‘‘I will be strung up in the main street of the town if this does not go through to be honest.’’

Gower acknowledged Mylchreest’s comments, that there were many other groups which needed help in the district too.

But he also reminded councillors the clock and the war memorial building were councilowned assets and there was an obligation to look after it.

Te Awamutu Councillor Andrew Brown asked if there was another budget which could be used to upgrade the clock.

In the end, councillors heard they were able to pay for the clock to be fixed using funding from an existing property budget, rather than adding an extra cost to the long term plan.

Standing outside the clock the following day, Gower said he was happy some money had been found to fix the clock.

‘‘I hope it’ll be done within the next 12 months. There’s a strong feeling in the community that it needs to be repaired.’’

A Heritage Trail sign on the wall of the memorial building provides some clues to the clock’s history.

The turret clock was manufactured in 1881 by Littlejohn and Sons in Wellington for the Timaru Borough Council.

It was then purchased and gifted to Te Awamutu in 1912 and it operated in a tower over the Te Awamutu Post Office until 1934.

It was rescued from storage and repaired so it could be installed in Kihikihi where it began keeping time for residents in 1960.

Te Awamutu Ward councillor Marcus Gower next to the Kihikihi town clock.

MARCUS GOWER The mechanical gearing system inside the town clock. It had to be manually wound to operate. Waipa¯ Mayor Jim Mylchreest was unsure whether spending $70,000 to fix a clock was a good use of money when other community groups were desperate for help.

PHOTOS: TOM LEE/STUFF The clock has been stuck at 1.31pm for a couple of years.

Names of two of the ‘clock winders’ inscribed on a board inside the clock tower.