Clock Tower

Clock Tower Feature Gallery

The Clock Tower in the Square was donated to the City by local businessman Arthur Hopwood in the 1950s. The Square Clock Tower was built to house the clock that was previously in the Main Street Post Office tower. The tower was designed by local engineer Ronald McMillan and was 87 feet (26.5m) high when built for a cost of £10,000. With the addition of the cross in later years the tower was 100 feet (30.5m) in height. The Clock Tower is currently undergoing restoration and the work is programmed to be completed by the end of April 2007.

This feature gallery is made up of photographs, plans and letters to the Palmerston North City Council and other materials drawn from the Ian Matheson City Archives and the Palmerston North City Library. It is intended to showcase the wide range of different sources and records that the City Library has available on the history of Palmerston North and the region.

If you wish to know more about the Clock Tower or any of the materials shown here please contact us or visit the
Ian Matheson City Archives or New Zealand and Pacific Islands Zone in the Palmerston North City Library. Higher quality copies of the feature gallery images may be available on request.

Browse the timeline below or check out all the material in the complete Clock tower - Feature Gallery

Timeline

1906 Feb 5	Palmerston North Post Office officially opens
1906 Nov 9	Chimes & clock christened Kerei Te Panau
1942	Wairarapa Quakes cause damage to the Post Office Tower – subsequently the tower is removed as a potential earthquake danger
1953	Arthur Hopwood proposes a plan and £10 000 donation for a Clock Tower for the City of Palmerston North
1955 Jul 21	Formal agreement to build the Clock Tower signed
1955	Work on building Clock Tower commences
1956 Nov	Tower completed
1957 Feb	Clock being installed
1957 Mar 20	Tower informally presented to city
1960 Dec 16	Internally lit cross placed on Clock Tower as a seasonal Christmas decoration
1967 Jun	Cross permanently put up
1969	Two rooms added at base of Clock Tower for gas regulator
1972 July 11	Council decides to add flood lighting to Clock Tower
1981 Jul 15	Cross replaced as it was not possible to repair the lighting in the old cross (New cross paid for by funds raised by local churches and individuals)
1990 Aug	Removal of Clock Tower sound shell and stage as part of The Square redevelopment for the Sesquicentennial
2003 Sep	The cross debate is rekindled. The Clock Tower is part of Stage Two of The Square redevelopment.
2006 Apr 26	Cross blown down by wind due to corrosion
2006 Sep	Tower dismantled for restoration
2007 May	Refurbished tower programmed to be completed with a new lantern on top

Debate about the appropriateness of the cross on the Clock Tower and the Tower itself has been almost continuous throughout the history of the Clock Tower