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Press, 10 August 1982, Page 17

The biggest revolving sign ever to be erected in New Zealand, and possibly the largest revolving sign of its type in the world, has now been placed atop an Auckland office block, pictured above. The 7.5 tonnes of steel and plastic was lifted 65 metres to the top of the Countrywide Building Society’s 17-storey Queen Street office building piece by piece to make a sign 3.5 metres high and 30 metres in circumference. It is illuminated from within, and will spell out

“Countrywide" twice and revolve l v 2 times a minute, thus travelling each day a distance equivalent to that between Auckland and Hamilton. The building’s architect, and the man who conceived the idea for the sign, Mr Alex Ross, of Pipers Architects. says that normally revolving signs rotate about a central axis, but this one is mounted on a specially designed and built track which runs on 80 urethane wheels attached to the outside of the building's service core.

The service core extends above the building's top level, thus the sign will be visible from many parts of the city and from a great distance. It will be powered by two three-horsepower electric motors. Lifting of the 14 segments which make up the sign look about two days. A spokesman for Clearlite Signs. Ltd, which made the panels said it was certainly the only one of its kind in New Zealand, and as far as he knew there was no other like it in the world.