Work on clock tower to turn back time

A major project to restore New Brighton’s heritage clock tower is about to get under way.

The clock tower, which stands next to the New Brighton Library on Marine Parade, dates back to the mid 1930s. It was donated by Richard Green, in memory of his father Edmund Green, who arrived in Christchurch with his family in 1859 to install the first telegraph system in the South Island.

The New Brighton clock tower dates back to the mid 1930s.

The clock tower suffered some damage in the earthquakes and a preliminary examination suggests some of the steel within the reinforced concrete may have corroded.

“We won’t know for sure how much structural work needs to be done on the clock tower till we’ve done some more investigations but it could turn out to be a big project and take several months to repair,’’ says Christchurch City Council Head of Parks Brent Smith.

“We’ve put scaffolding and fencing up around the clock tower so we can start to do that investigation work and we hope to have a better idea in a few weeks about what’s involved in the repair work.’’

As part of the project, the four clock faces will be removed and taken off site for restoration. The clock mechanism will also be checked to ensure it is in good working order.

People will still be able to access the library and the café while the work on the clock tower is done.

“The New Brighton clock tower is an important local landmark and we want to ensure it stands for many years to come so we will be doing what we can to repair the damage caused by the quakes and to strengthen it structurally,’’ Mr Smith says.

Work is also going to begin soon on repairs to the Sumner Clock Tower.

The clock on the Sumner Clock Tower, which also dates back to the mid 1930s, has not worked since it was damaged by vandals last year.

Some on the concrete on the clock tower is also cracked and chipped and needs fixing.

Scaffolding will be erected around the clock tower shortly so that the clock faces can be taken down and repaired and the concrete work done.