LAUNCESTON’S 100-year-old town clock is not one you can set your watch by.
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Recently the clock has been chiming a few minutes past the hour due to temperature changes which can affect the mechanism.
The clock rings the Westminster chimes every quarter hour during the day, and each hour from 11pm to 6am.
City of Launceston general manager Robert Dobryznski said the clock had already been adjusted and returned to normal.
‘‘It’s not uncommon with a more than 100-year-old mechanism for the clock to get off time, but when it’s wrong, it’s not wrong for long,’’ he said.
‘‘Changes in temperature can affect the mechanism, either speeding it up or slowing it down.
‘‘We monitor it and make regular adjustments as necessary.’’
The clock was installed above the post office in Launceston in 1909.
In recent years debate has raged over whether the chimes should continue to ring throughout the night in an area surrounded by tourist accommodation.
