When climbing the Old Post Office tower to replace the flag on top of the dome, the flag team has to go up through the clock room, past the magnificent old clock mechanism.
In 1913, the Ponsonby residents funded half of the cost of their Post Office clock. Sadly, after over 100 years of good service, the mechanism was in need of some TLC.
Now that a flag replacement routine has been established, the team turned their attention to getting the clock restarted, encouraged by calls from Ponsonby locals wishing to see the clock working again. In recent years, the clock had lost accuracy and the regular winding routine had lapsed, so eventually it was set to midday and stopped.
The flag team sought approval and permission to fix the clock which involved council, the landlord, and current tenants. This was achieved with the assistance of our local councilor Pippa Coom and goodwill and support all round. The next step was to track down one of the few horologists in New Zealand with the expertise to get the old girl working again. Michael Cryns was our man, being familiar with the Old Post Office clock along with the Town Hall, central library and Civic Theatre clocks. The Old Post Office clocks’s accuracy is determined by a gently swinging pendulum and a finely balanced escapement.
The clock is wound by winching heavy weights to the top of the tower every two weeks. The only concession to modern times is an electric motor driving the winch. Having given it a good clean, Michael declared the clock in good shape apart from a worn escapement and a sticky cog or two.
Having made new escapement parts in his workshop, the time came to restart the clock in early March. With a bit of fine tuning the Old Post Office clock should be on time next time you look up. The next task is to build a protective cover for the working parts. Once complete, the Old Ponsonby Post Office clock should be good for another century of service.
(Charles Scoones, Post Office tower, flag minder and clock-winding apprentice)
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