The Dunedin Exchange’s master clock, three other clock faces and three pairs of clock hands have been given to Toitu Otago Settlers Museum by the Clutha District Council.
Originally intended to be Dunedin’s post office, the building was completed in 1868 and stood for over a century in Princes St before it was demolished in 1969 to make way for John Wickliffe House.
Collections and exhibitions manager Jane Macknight said the museum was pleased to receive the items, and was looking forward to putting them on display.
"The building ... was a very important part of transforming what was often referred to as ‘Mud-edin’ into a modern city," she said.
Two of the clock faces would likely be incorporated into the museum’s First Great City display.
"We’ve got to do a bit of infrastructure work, because they’re heavy and we need to reinforce the walls, and extend one of the walls in our display area," she said.
However transfer of the items had taken "some years" and she was pleased this process was complete.
A glass-enclosed brass clock mechanism, originally commissioned for South Seas Exhibition in 1864, was already on display at the museum, having been given by the Clutha District Council in 2019.
The items were believed to have been given to the Balclutha Borough Council by the Cartwright family in about 1968, a council spokesman said.
At the time, the borough council had been looking to construct a town clock for Balclutha, although this was later deemed too expensive.
One of the clock faces remained in the district, mounted in the council’s Rosebank office reception where it has ticked away for almost 50 years, while the other items were kept in storage.
Clutha District mayor Bryan Cadogan said Toitu Otago Settlers Museum would be able to preserve and display the items for so that everyone could enjoy the pieces.
"The clock has an interesting history for both Dunedin and Clutha, and we’ll still keep a piece of that history in Clutha,” he said.
