I was recently involved in some work on a clock tower in the Cronulla Mall . My teacher was centrally involved with several decades ago. At the time of the bi-centenary, a clock was given by Caltex to the Sutherland Shire, the clock having been made in 1770, the year Captain James Cook arrived in Kurnell. The clock was made by Ainsworth Thwaites (of Thwaites and Reed) for Julion of Brentford. When the clock arrived, it was not in good condition and my teacher was given the task of restoring it. This involved extensive work, including completely rebuilding the wooden barrels. It’s a testament to his good work that the clock remains in good condition all these years later. And those barrels are a work of art! 

I recently had the questionable pleasure of restoring a Eureka clock. These clocks are very desirable among a certain class of collector, I count myself among them, however their rarity and price makes them a little luxury. If you don’t know Eureka clocks, the picture of the clock in question will show you the main feature of interest to the owner – the oversize balance wheel. In this case, the balance is behind the dial in a 4-glass timber framed case. Most Eureka clocks have a rate of 1.33333 seconds per beat, but this is one of the more unusual 1.5 second rate. They run on a 1.5volt battery – originally one of those big cylindrical batteries that readers of a certain age will remember from their high school science class days.