OAMARU’S CLOCK TOWER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 11 April 1945, Page 4

OAMARU’S CLOCK TOWER

OPPOSING THE “BUREAUCRATS” In a letter to the editor of the “Otago Daily Times" an Cmaru resident says that whilst the great majority of Oamaru citizens thoroughly appreciate the motive of the Public Works Department in attempting to minimise the earthquake risk in Oamaru, they cannot possibly deprive the residents of what they have come to regard, with very good reason, as the town's outstanding landmark. Admittedly the welfare of the citizen should be placed before purely aesthetic or architectural considerations, but if the former purpose can be gained and the latter preserved, so much the better. The apparent complacency of the ordinary Oamaru citizen over the issue camouflages the real position, adds the correspondent. Underlying the whole question there is a deep-seated feeling that the clock tower could easily be made safe against all but the worst earthquakes. Should the area be subjected to an earthquake of such intensity that it demolished a thoroughly reinforced tower, there would be little or none of the town left standing at any rate. The cost of such a steel reinforcement would be trivial compared with the grievous loss the town would suffer if a landmark so treasured by citizens were to be removed. Another correspondent joins in exhorting the citizens of Oamaru to oppose the “bureaucrats" and assure the preservation of the clock tower.