Timaru District Council provides locals with 'bonus bongs'

The Timaru District Council on Wednesday provided its 28,000-plus residents with "bonus bongs".

The council took to its Facebook page to alert locals of the extra bongs they would come across, but it's not all as it seems.

"You may hear a few extra bongs today as we get the clock going again. Bonus bongs," the council wrote on Facebook.

According to the council, the historic clock at the top of the council building had been having a few issues, forcing them to reset it.

"For those on clockwatch, we're restarting the clock at 10.01am. The .01 is so that it's not started at the same time as the chimes," the council said.

The amusing post attracted hundreds of comments, with many locals thanking the council for their generous donation of "bonus bongs".

You may hear a few extra bongs today as we get the clock going again. Bonus Bongs.

Posted by Timaru District Council on Tuesday, 11 September 2018

"Not the bonus bongs I was looking for," one person said.

Another wrote "Love me some bonus bongs", to which the council replied, "Y'all talking about the town clock, right?"

"4.20 is going to be lit" (the code referring to cannabis), one local claimed.

The town clock is more than 100 years old. Photo / Google

But despite the local's buzzy idea, the council said it would not be possible for the clock to bong at 4.20pm as "it's only designed to strike on 15-minute intervals".

The post has been shared more than 240 times and received more than 1000 interactions.

The clock, which is 106 years old, previously stopped when a 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook the South Island in 2015.