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The original Rotary Town Clock and arch with marching girls
and band during the Woolfiesta parade, April 1963
|
Beginning in 12th century Europe, towns
and monasteries built clocks in high towers to strike bells to call the
community to prayer. Public clocks played an important timekeeping role in
daily life until the 20th century, when accurate watches became affordable.
Today the time keeping functions of town clocks are no longer necessary, and
they are mainly built and preserved for traditional, decorative, and artistic
reasons.
Blue Mountains City Council had originally
intended that a town clock be incorporated into the superstructure of a
proposed rail overbridge to replace the level crossing at Katoomba, but as this
did not seem to be a project likely to be implemented within the near future, the Rotary Club of Katoomba wrote to the Council early in 1956
offering to provide a clock for public benefit, if the Council would
arrange a suitable structure.
Katoomba Rotary had been looking for a project to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the charting of
the Katoomba Club. Local architect Gerald Corne, brother of Les Corne,
president of the club in 1955 - 56 and later a mayor of the City, was invited
to draw up plans featuring two boomerangs in the supporting arch with the
Rotary wheel to frame the clock.
Council thanked the Club for its offer and made enquiries to various towns, including Cronulla, in order to
ascertain a suitable place for such a public clock, with the idea then of
conferring with the Club as to the siting of this amenity. The
intersection of Katoomba and Main Streets was suggested, also the Carrington
Bus Shelter Shed as it was then. Rotary favoured this latter position as the most suitable.
At the time Alderman Hand said that a
public clock had been erected at Cronulla, sited on the
Commonwealth Bank building, but this had been provided by the Bank itself, and
he thought that some other premises might be suitable in Katoomba. Following the
Council's investigations and various conferences with the Rotary Club, it was agreed in
August 1957 that the Council would provide and finance the cost of a supporting
arch, opposite the Carrington, to an amount not exceeding £1,000 ($2,000) and
the cost of the provision of the clock would be borne by the Club which would
also supply the plans drawn by up Gerald Corne. It was agreed that Rotary would
provide the clock at an estimated cost of £250.
Tenders were invited for construction of the
arch with all of the work to be carried out by Council staff, as well as the
purchase of the clock, the total cost being £1,177 ($2,354). These costs were made
known to the Rotary Club which then decided, without any request from the
Council, that it would bear the whole of the costs involved so that the Council
would not incur any expenditure and the project would stand as a gift to the people of the area, although the Club was not able to forward a
cheque immediately for the whole amount incurred.
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| Town Clock design blueprint, Gerald Corne |
In
October 1956 the preliminary plans had been submitted to the club by Gerald Corne,
and
ways and means of financing the purchase of the clock were discussed. A series of
barbecues held in Megalong Valley by Harry Hammon and his committee were continued to raise funds for the
clock. The Caledonian Society, a dedicated group who regularly held dances at
the California Guest house in aid of local charities and good causes, agreed to
run a dance for the town clock project, subsequently handing a cheque for £20
to the Rotary Club through their president, Mr. Sid Mavris. A fashion parade
held in conjunction with the Quota club of Katoomba, put on by Jack and Marj Scott,
resulted in Rotary's share of £31 being added to the fund.
However,
the need for a more positive source of funding was apparent. A suggestion from
club president Stan Jefferies to run a monster art union with television set, a
rarity in those days, as the prize, met with some opposition from members at first,
but Stan with the tenacity of a bull-dog, or rather, insurance man, at last won
the consent of the club and necessary steps were made to implement the plan. Permission
was obtained from the Chief Secretary's department and 2/- tickets were printed
and ready for selling in January 1957, quite a sum of money in those days.
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Town Clock Art Union poster in shop window,
Astor Furniture Katoomba Street |
Early in February 1957 the sketches of the
proposed town clock and archway prepared by Gerald Corne were on display. By
the end of February, Council had approved the design and voted to spend £1,000
on the arch, £100 of which was to come from the North Katoomba-Leura Town Improvement
Loan fund; however the Katoomba Rotarians were unanimous in their decision to
pay for the supporting arch as well as the clock. Finance having been obtained
from the Commercial Bank of Australia in Main Street, an order was given to Mr.
Ralph Symonds, a Sydney manufacturer, to fabricate the arch and supply the
clock. In return for the order, Mr. Symonds agreed to supply the clock for £100
less than the original estimated price of £250, a gesture greatly appreciated
by the Rotarians.
The added responsibility of paying for the
arch as well as the clock emphasised the need for a more concerted effort in
raising funds. Sale of tickets in the Art Union had slowed down in the
town, with secretary Jack Scott continually urging members to greater efforts. It
was felt that saturation point had been reached in the town and consent to explore
wider areas was sought. This resulted in the selling of tickets at the G.P.S. rowing regatta on the Nepean River at Penrith as well as at Central station in Sydney;
in fact, anywhere a gathering of people suggested a possible vantage point.
Even with these added selling points, the
art union was lagging and President Stan came up with tile bright idea of
enlisting the help of a chirpy little old lady of over eighty years, Mrs. Robey
by name, to sell tickets on a commission basis. It was Mrs Robey's proud boast
that she was the best ticket seller on the mountains, so every day she was
picked up from her home near Catalina Park by a Rotarian and comfortably set up
with table and chair near the Katoomba Post Office on fine days, and quite
undeterred would move under the shop awnings on wet days, and sell-tickets she
did. Mrs Robey also sang in St. Hilda's Church Choir at the ripe old age of
ninety.
Permission to hold a street stall was
obtained and this was the first Rotary street stall held on Easter Saturday.
The wives of Rotarians, known as Rotariannes, assisted in stocking and operating
the stall. Generous prizes were donated by Rotary members – providore, Charlie Colless
gave a duck (very topical at Easter); master painter, Jim Crane promised
sufficient paint of the winner's choice to paint the exterior of a house; a Stainless steel sink from Bert Lambert’s Hardware; 40 gallons of petrol from
fuel agent Len Hansby and two cases of apples from shopkeeper Reg Bartle. Rotariannes
worked hard preparing saleable goods, this was before the advent of the inner
wheel club of Katoomba, and the stall was a great success adding £78 to the Town
Clock fund, with some competitions still to be completed. With the date of the unveiling and handing
over of the clock set as May 25th 1957, time was the essence and Easter Saturday
with the holiday crowds seemed a most propitious morning.
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The Katoomba Town Clock showing the Rotary motto
Service Above Self |
With the Rotary Town Clock safely
suspended from the arch spanning the crest of Katoomba Street, much to the
delight and pride of Rotarians and townspeople alike, the unveiling and handing
over took place at 4.00 p.m. on Saturday, May 25th 1957. With pardonable
pomp and ceremony the unveiling was performed by past
first vice-president of Rotary International, Ollie Oberg, his worship the
Mayor, Aub Murphy
accepted the clock and archway on behalf of the citizens of Katoomba and the
City Council. The approximate cost of the archway and clock at the time of unveiling
was given as £1200.
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| The Rotary plaque |
Following the unveiling ceremony a
cocktail party was held in the Carrington Hotel. In the evening a combined
meeting of Penrith, Windsor, Lithgow, Blackheath and Katoomba clubs was held at
the Palais Royal, Katoomba Street, then run as a very superior guest house by Sid
and Rene March, later the site of the Bible College
and now a motel. Notable
guests at the dinner were the Mayor and Mayoress, Ald. and Mrs. Aub Murphy, the
Honourable A.S. Luchetti, federal member, and Mrs. Luchetti, Mr. Jim Robson, M.L.A.,
Rotarian Ollie Oberg and Mrs. Oberg, past governor Seymour Shaw; and two Rotary
foundation fellows, Bill Knick and Bob Sims from Africa who were guest speakers.
A large number of Rotarians and wives from the five clubs, together with
representatives of many local organisations made the night a wonderful success
and worthy extension
of Katoomba Rotary’s historic day.
The entire finance for the Town Clock
project had not been raised at the time of the unveiling, so permission was
sought for a four weeks' extension of the monster art union. The clock was the largest
project carried out by the Rotary Club of Katoomba to that date. A parody of "Underneath
the Arches" composed by Stan and Georgie Jefferies was printed on the programme.
Underneath the Town Clock
Underneath the Town Clock our fellowship
is fine,
By the Rotary Town clock we'll always know
the time,
Every Rotary fellow and Rotarianne.
Happy when the funds are increasing, the T.V.
set is drawn
Service when it's raining; service when it's
fine
The arch spanning high above,
Tickets in our pockets no matter where we stray,
For
our Rotary Town Clock we’ll work until it’s paid.
The
Flannagan and Allen version and the Jefferies’ version were sung with great
gusto.
Unfortunately
the archway did not stand the test of time and Mountains weather. In 1967
Council staff identified deterioration of the aluminium cladding and internal structure
of the arch as a hazard and removed it, not without protests in the press.
“Give
Us Back Our Clock!
Katoomba’s
clock, main landmark in the shopping area, disappeared like a thief in the
night.
But it was not stolen. It was chopped down
in a hurry because it had been found to be dangerous.
The Blue Mountains City Council had called tenders for its removal
because reports said the supports were decaying.
However when a would-be tenderer examined the pylons, he found one was
so badly rotted away that he recommended instant removal.
Distinctive
and useful
Heeding that advice, Council arranged for its removal by its own staff
in the dead of night – or at least the very early hours of the morning – when
traffic was lightest. However residents are complaining that they miss the
clock.
Apparently it was erected at the behest of the Katoomba Rotary Club many
years ago.
Straddling Katoomba Street, at the top of the hill, the clock was not
only a distinctive land mark, but it was a useful time piece.
Those hurrying for a train always knew whether they had to put in an
extra sprint or could ease up for a breather.
Service
clubs could help
The ‘Blue Mountains Advertiser’ has
received many complaints about its removal and requests for its reinstatement.
If Rotary, Lions, Apex and Quota – all service clubs with an interest in
the town’s progress are not interested individually, perhaps they will combine
to restore the clock; or would the new Katoomba Chamber of Commerce take an
interest?
But the cry still is, ‘Give us back our clock.”
Blue Mountains Advertiser, June 29, 1967.
In
October 1967 Council called for tenders to supply and erect a steel open web
arch with brick work at the base, to a design by G. Sadler and P. Burn. A local company, A. Grimly of Valley Heights,
was successful in gaining the contract at a cost of $900.00
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| Blue Mountains Advertiser, August 3, 1967 |
Rotary
had written to Council in November regretting that it would be unable to cover
the full cost of $295 to affix the Rotary emblem to the arch. Time was pressing
and Council's Chief Electrical Engineer advised that the clock makers need the go-ahead
by the end of the month, to avoid the Christmas shut-down delaying delivery
until February. The stumbling block seemed to be the Rotary emblem plaque; it
was Alderman Thelma Murphy who got the ball rolling.
QUESTION WITHOUT NOTICE
MINUTE NO. 1708
ALDERMAN T. MURPHY:
66/286/2400, Erection of Clock on Arch, Katoomba Street,
Katoomba.
A motion was moved by Aldermen Murphy and Lloyd
that the clock be erected as quickly as possible and that the Rotary plaque be
placed in position.
An amendment was moved by Aldermen James and
Stuart that Council accept the offer of 50% of the cost of the Rotary emblem
from the Rotary Club and that Council meet the balance of the cost.
On being put to the meeting, the amendment was
lost and the motion as moved by Aldermen Murphy and Lloyd was carried.
In reply to a question by Alderman Anderson, the
Mayor advised that the plaque would be placed in a suitable position on the
clock arch and would record the history of the first clock, Alderman Lloyd
asked that the Rotary insignia be included on the plaque.
(Council minutes)
The
new arch work was completed in July 1968 at the tender cost of $900. Subsequently
a new remote control clock was installed at a cost of $1,165.00. Katoomba finally
had its clock back. In 1975 Council's Town Planning Department advised that the
structure was not aesthetically pleasing and an alternative location and design
be examined. Nothing appears to have emerged from this proposal. There is
another Blue Mountains town clock located in the shopping centre in Wentworth
Falls but that is another story.
References:
* Tower
clocks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turret_clock
* Blue
Mountains Local Studies vertical file - Katoomba Town Clock
* 'The
Rotary Town Clock', presentation by Mrs Georgie Jefferies to Katoomba Rotary
Club meeting, 5 March 1984.
All
images from the Local Studies collection
John
Merriman, Local
Studies Librarian
