Maryborough City Hall Clock Tower

Maryborough City Hall 1908 (Source: Maryborough and Wide Bay Burnett Historical Society Inc.)

Maryborough City Hall 1909 (Source: Maryborough and Wide Bay Burnett Historical Society Inc.)

Maryborough City Hall 1910 (Source: Maryborough and Wide Bay Burnett Historical Society Inc.)

Maryborough City Hall 1912 (Source: Maryborough and Wide Bay Burnett Historical Society Inc.)

For 110 years, this grand lady of Maryborough’s architecture has played host to the celebrations and commemorations of our community. From rallies, blue light discos and community displays, to hosting royalty and dignitaries at gala events, celebrations shared at City Hall are held by locals amongst their fondest memories and traditions.

Locals' memories of the City Hall can be found on the Libraries Youtube page here

Maryborough City Hall with Clock Tower (Source: Maryborough and Wide Bay Burnett Historical Society Inc.)

Maryborough City Hall with Clock Tower

Many people are not aware that the City Hall did not originally have a Clock Tower. Abraham Churchwood bequethed  £579 for new clock tower in 1932. Details can be found in Trove 

"Under the will of the late Mr. Abraham Churchward of Maryborough, the Maryborough City Council was bequeathed £579 for the purpose of installing a clock in the Town Hall. So
that the clock might be hoisted in a manner befitting, the building the council decided to borrow £1200  to (build a tower on the present building). The Home Secretary J. C. Petersop yesterday declared that the work would be for the benefit of the whole city". 

The building of the clock tower was not without controversy with dispute recorded in Trove
"certain sections of the ratepayers objected to the borrowing proposal, declaring that the expenditure of the money would be for the benefit of one particular part of the city and not for the town as a whole".

It was decided that the clock was to be housed in a tower and that it would benefit all members of the city.

Early in 1935 the Council let a contract through to G.Horburgh and Co. Ltd of Maryborough to the Synchronome Clock Co, Brisbane for a clock designed by Arthur A. Jackson AMIN (Aust). The clock was made in Brisbane with the bells being imported from the foundry John Taylor and Co., Loughborough, England. The  five bell, electrically-wound Westminster chime clock cost $850. It has four seven foot skeleton dials. The largest bell strikes the hours and four smaller bells the quarter hours. After Walkers Ltd, Maryborough had built the dome, Mr B.N. Barnes, Brisbane installed the clock. The hands turned for the first time on September 20, 1935 and the first chimes were heard on September 23, 1935. (Information supplied by Abraham Churchward's relative). It was decided in 1960 that the chimes would be silent between 7pm and 7am daily to prolong the life of the clock. It also meant a council employee "will no longer face danger in climbing steep ladders at night in semi-darkness to silence the chimes" (Maryborough Chronicle 5th March, 1960).

Cleaning the City Hall Tower 1995

Peter Olds recalls being asked to assist with the clock maintenance in 1960. He also discusses the clock in an interview about the Town Hall found here Peter Olds and relatives of Abraham Churchward went up into the clock tower in August 2016. See the workings of the clock from this visit here:

Recent refurbishment of the Town Hall Clock occurred in 2016.  The Chronicle recorded this detail here

Published with consent from Peter Olds and Abraham Churchward's relative.

References:
Newspapers Home - Trove. (2016). Trove. Retrieved 18.9.2018 from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/180049735/19643984

and

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/149074867/17902088

Maryborough Chronicle (2016) retrieved  18.9.2018 from https://www.frasercoastchronicle.com.au/news/maryborough-city-hall-clock-chiming-once-again/3095916/

Maryborough Chronicle (1960) retrieved 5. 3. 60

Tags #cityhall #maryborough #clocktower #peterolds #110years