A call to stop the restoration of Gore’s landmark clock tower has been met with dismay. Deputy mayor Joe Stringer last week called for the restoration project to be “killed”. “Everyone uses a phone these days or a watch, so, like, put it in a museum,” Cr Stringer told a Gore District Council meeting. Council chief executive Debbie Lascelles told the meeting the $235,000 restoration of the tower had already been approved and was under way. “The issue with the clock tower is that it is now becoming quite unsafe and we have parts of it falling off so we either have to demolish it or fix it which is probably similar in terms of cost.” However, local watchmaker Kevin Marshall, who is contracted by the council to maintain the tower, said he had not seen any damage. “In all the years I’ve been involved in it, there’s no bits falling off it and that’s for sure,” he said. Mr Marshall has been involved with the tower since it was erected in 1991. “All the labour . . . put into it, that was voluntary. “It would be a shame to, just on 40 years, to demolish it again, wouldn’t it?” “It’s an icon.” John Falconer, a life member of the Pakeke Lions Club which undertook a major fundraising campaign 40 years ago to reinstate a clock tower, said he “could not believe” the council would even consider taking it down. “[I] can’t imagine Gore without having a clock tower there. “It’s such a central point for town. “It was a major project at the time,” he said, noting it was officially recommissioned by the governor-general at the time, Dame Cath Tizard. Members of the club — led by Stan Chittock, Paisley Laird, Alex Jones, Bert Sims and Henry Armitage — supplied 6500 hours of labour and construction and contributed more than $30,000 towards the cost of the project. “It launched [and recognised]. . . Pakeke Lions within the town, which has remained, of course, in a very major way,” Mr Falconer said. Ms Lascelles said as the restoration project had been started, any delays would cause additional cost. “Plus we’d probably need to consult because regardless of what everyone around this table believes, I imagine the public potentially have quite a strong opinion about something which is, for some people, iconically Gore.” Councillors voted to continue with the investigative work into the tower and a report would be prepared for council for further decisions. The clock tower houses the clock mechanism and bells from Gore original post office tower, which were commissioned in 1906. That was dismantled in 1945 due to concerns over earthquake safety and the clock and bells were stored until the new tower was erected in 1991. The clock mechanism and full descriptions of the parts can be seen through the glass windows at the bottom of the tower. gemma.sinclair@alliedmedia.co.nz
