MEMORIAL CLOCK

Waikato Times, Volume 120, Issue 20889, 22 August 1939, Page 7

MEMORIAL CLOCK

PROPOSAL FOR HAMILTON REMINDER OF PROGRESS Typifying in graphic manner the | passage of 100 years of progress, : plans for the erection of a civic clock tower as Hamilton's memorial to the ; Centennial were presented at a meeting of the Hamilton Centennial Committee in the municipal chambers . yesterday. The meeting was presided ! over by the Mayor, Mr 11. D. Caro, who is chairman of the committee. | Although simplicity is the keynote ' of the proposed tower and clock, the Centennial motif is well conveyed and • the historical aspect of the memorial ,is introduced in original ways. De- ' signed as a memorial to the pioneers who laid the foundations of Hamilton and the Waikato district, the structure is also intended to serve as a lasting reminder of the great progress that has been made in the first 100 years of New Zealand's colonisation. Historic Site The proposed site for the tower is the top of the hill on which the Hamilton West School now stands. With i the crest of the hill standing 58ft. \ above the level of the recently-cleared area of Garden Place, and the tower j reaching 53ft. further up, the clock i face should be visible from all parts ! of the town and will fill a long-felt need. In design, the tower itself will be very simple, being merely a stone ; and concrete base surmounted by four steel standards which will hold i the clock. | The ingenuity displayed by the de- : signers of the clock in capturing the 1 Centennial spirit will be realised when j the various features relating to its > site and construction are studied. The soil on which it will stand is part of a section which was of historic importance in the early days of the town, and the base of the structure will be of rough stone similar to that used by the pioneers in their building operations. Surmounting this, and introducing the modern note, will be a large block of reinforced concrete on which will be engraved interpretations of some of the town's foremost historic events, j From the four corners of the block, I which will bear the figures 18-10, will jbe steel standards, each with 100 j steps to represent the years to which | the memorial is dedicated, and at the top will be the four faces of the clock. Immediately below each clock face will be engraved the figures 19-10. The hands of the clock will have a span of about six feet and each face will measure about eight feet square, i Another modern note will be introduced by the use of radio amplifiers in place of the heavy bell which has been an essential part of town clocks in the past. By this means, a small bell will be used and the amplification will be such that it will be heard in all parts of the borough. In addition, It is intended that the amplifiers should be connected with the Mayor’s office in order that they could be used in the case of an emergency. Cost of £I6OO In presenting the plan for the clock j the borough engineer, Mr R. Worley, ! said it was not intended merely as a | memorial, but also as a structure : which would play a useful part in the future progress of the town. After explaining several technical details in connection with the proposal the speaker stated that it was also intended to provide a horizontal dial which could be seen by air travellers. jThe cost would be about £ISOO. ; The construction would be such ; ! hat the mechanism could be raised lup the steel standards, thus elimin- : a ting the need for expensive scaffold:ng. By this means the clock could be raised and lowered as the need j arose. The figures would be readable i at about 1000 yards. In reply to Mr A. E. Gibbons, the Mayor said that it was lioped to raise : £3OOO in the town. The Borough j Council would provide £iooo. On the motion of the Mayor it was decided to apply to the Auckland Centenial Executive to have the clock as i a Centennial memorial.