High time in Alexandra...

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 28

High time in Alexandra...

Although Alexandra has a population of barely 4500 the town possesses one of the largest clocks, in the world. Mounted high on the rocky face of Knobbie’s Range at the ; eastern edge of the town, thft clock’s 12-metre face and giant hands ensure that the correct time can be seen for miles. The idea of constructing a clock on the hill was first mooted by the Alexandra Jaycees in June 1966. but the proposal soon ran into difficulties. A section of the local community voiced strong opposition mainly on environmental grounds, but the Jaycees, undaunted, erected a full size mockup on the site to give residents a better idea of what was involved. Eventually a poll was held in which more than 90 per cent of the town’s ratepayers participated. The result was an overwhelming majority in favour of the clock’s erection. A Dunedin-based firm of engineers was commissioned to design and supply the driving mechanism ‘in February 1968, and {after 1264 hours; of work bv Jaycee members, the clock Was completed and operating by the end. of the year: . . , f •

One of the main difficulties was the inaccessibility of the site; a problem overcome by the construction of an almost vertical 30-metre section of railway line down the face of the cliff. All concrete and Steel for the clock’s support as well as its mechanism, which weighed almost a ton, had to be winched down the line. The minute hand is 6 metres in length, the hour hand 4 metres and each weighs about 300 kg. The

hands, which are specially cantilevered to’ withstand gale-force winds, .are driven by a three-quarter horsepower. electric motor. The clock is illuminated at night by 150 ordinary torch bulbs powered by a reduction transformer. The system is so effective that the clock can be clearly read up to eight kilometres away. . The Jaycees proudly reveal that the total cost’of the clock was only : $2996. Annual running . costs are about $2OO. „ '