The sound of silence is over after repairs to Dunedin's Municipal Chambers clock.
The towering timepiece in the Octagon had been silent since experiencing gear failure on July 4, Dunedin City Council city property asset manager John Varney said.
However, the chimes were again ringing out yesterday - ending a three-week absence - after repairs were completed, he said.
The clock's chimes were switched off when two small gears - called pinions - on the clock's winding shafts were found to be suffering from metal fatigue, he said.
Without them, the weights used to operate the clock's chimes and strikes did not operate, meaning replacement gears had to be cast, machined and fitted. The work was carried out in Dunedin, before the new gears were installed and the chimes reactivated yesterday.
It was the latest mechanical malfunction for the municipal timepiece, which was installed in 1880 and last underwent a major refurbishment in July 2007.
The chimes were most recently switched off in mid-2011, after the clock let rip with a 10-chime peal at 10.30am on a Monday, and later began unleashing hourly peals every 15 minutes.
Those faults were fixed, and despite the latest breakdown, the clock remained ''in very good condition'', Mr Varney said.
With regular maintenance and the occasional overhaul, it would continue to run indefinitely, he predicted.
''It's a beautiful piece of work.''
The latest repairs were expected to cost less than $1000, although invoices were yet to be received, he said.
