A group of Australia’s finest watch and clockmakers have spent the past week touring Tasmania’s clocks, and in the process, contributing significant information to the state’s history.
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The Watch and Clockmakers Association of Australia began their tour in Launceston, where they were granted access to the iconic General Post Office clock tower, installed in the early 1900s, to see the inner workings of the beloved timepiece.
Andrew Markerink from the association said life without clocks would be chaos, as their steady tolls dictate when we eat, sleep, go to work, and arrange to meet each other.
He said even when we can’t see the clock face, it still tells us where we are by the tolling of the bells to mark every quarter hour.
The group’s tour began in Launceston, including a visit to Clockwise, and continued down through Ross, Richmond and to Hobart.
Mr Markerink said being able to provide expert information on clock restoration and care, as well as filling in the gaps on some of the clock’s history, was part of the joys of being on such a tour.
“While we’re doing the tour we’re providing advice to the various churches and organisations that have got problems with their clocks,” he said.
“One particular clock it was very lucky in fact, there was a major issue with it that wasn’t actually known, so it was nice to have that spotted.”
At Government House in Hobart, the expert clockmakers discovered that one well-used 1800s clock, one of the first given to the colony, was in need of repair – something no one would likely have noticed without their intervention.
He said the horologists on tour came from as far afield as Queensland, but the association was particularly delighted to meet with the great-great-great grandson of Hobart convict Francis Abbott, a watchmaker and meteorologist who was transported to Tasmania in 1844.
Mr Markerink said the influence of Francis Abbott was still evident throughout Tasmania, from the clocks on Government house to his research into astronomy and meteorology.
Despite their old-fashioned appearance, Mr Markerink said clocks still play a central part in modern-day life, their looming presence over our cities a reminder that clockmakers and watchmakers were once at the “cutting edge” of engineering and science, leading their fields into new research and knowledge.
“Try to imagine your day without a clock … they’re one of those fundamental things that ticks in the background,” he said.
