Horologists give Napier's floral clock an overhaul

Rowan Pilbrow holds one of the clock hands for Napier's floral clock which is undergoing an overhaul.

Time has stood still for the past few months while Napier's floral clock has been in the safe hands of Taupo horologists Rowan Pilbrow and Werner Muller-Schild.

The hands were removed from the 66-year-old clock, which was gifted to the city by the now-late Arthur Hurst in 1955 and put in place during the War Memorial building construction.

Along with the electronic motor system and the mechanical system driving the hands, the 3.75-metre big hand and smaller 2.75-metre hand were taken away for an overhaul and eventual new placement as part of the War Memorial restoration project.

The embedded timepiece will be moved a few metres to the south when the project is set to be completed in time for Anzac Day next year.

It was a novel job for Rowan Pilbrow, the third generation in a family horology history dating back 75 years, saying that while he'd done big clocks over the years, including the Taradale Town Clock, it was the first one embedded in the ground.

Rowan says the Napier repair is good timing.

"We're fortunate enough to have just opened a purpose built clock workshop in November. This has been built in a large warehouse equipped with a two tonne gantry and a large area set aside specifically for large public clocks. We're the only company in the country with a dedicated large-clock workshop," Rowan said.

With the Napier clock "well overdue for servicing", Rowan says there has also been a problem in the past with it not keeping time, "so we're sorting that out as well".

A team was sent to dismantle the clock, with instructions to keep the clock as original as possible. Rowan says the actual repairs will only take a few weeks but they have to wait until the redevelopment of the Marine Parade site is almost completed before installation can happen.

He describes the clock as "a little bit unusual" when compared to most clocks they work on.

"But it's been well thought out and made so it should be fairly straight forward."

He says the most difficult part about the whole project is constructing a large enough frame to mount all of the components for testing.

"The clock needs to be mounted at a 30-degree angle, but due to the length of the hands, it will need to be raised fairly high off the ground to give the hands enough clearance as to not touch the ground."

This is the type of job which Rowan and his team relish.

"I love doing anything unusual. It's amazing the range of different watches and clocks we have here in New Zealand and anything out of the norm which requires our help is great."

Looking after large clocks is not out of the ordinary for the Taupo-based horologists, currently halfway through a full restoration of the Kihikihi War Memorial tower clock, located just outside Te Awamutu.

"This is a large striking clock that was made in Wellington in 1881. We also look after a number of other large clocks around the country. However, we only get one or two a year that need major work and have to be brought back to the workshop."

Rowan says the mechanics of the large clock are quite different to a smaller wall-type clock, with not much in common with the general counterparts.

"It's an interesting project though and we're looking forward to getting stuck in."