After three years of not working, the Pietermaritzburg city hall clock has now started ticking again.
This was confirmed by Msunduzi municipality mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla on Tuesday. He said the move to restore the clock had been prompted by an outcry from residents who were unable to check the time at the iconic building.
“We are very happy that the clock has been restored and is reliably telling time again. The residents have been complaining about the condition of the clock and the hall and we assured them that work was underway to fix things,” Thebolla said.
Earlier in the year deputy mayor Mxolisi Mkhize met horologist and curator Mark Webber to find solutions to get the clock up and running again.
Webber said the contract to fix the clock had come through a while ago, but he only received the order number last week Wednesday.
“I went out on and we got it running on Thursday,” said Webber.
The 65-year-old’s job entails clock repairs and restorations.
“Oftentimes the work involves the readjustment of the hammers and the lubrication of the whole clock and winding,” said Webber.
“With these old mechanisms you have to be on top of it all of the time,” said Webber.
Born into the family of clock makers who have been doing this for over a 100 years, it was a no brainer that Webber would follow the same path. .
He worked as an apprentice to his father and later studied clock making through the British Horological Institute.
Over the years, Webber has also fixed and maintained tower clocks at the Kokstad city hall and the Greytown clock.
He has a long track record of working with the city dating back to 2003 when he was first given the contract to fix the city’s clock. His business relations would often be marred by the city defaulting on payments for the work he had done.
“Sometimes I would work for three months and I would not be paid. Then I would stop work. At other times they would pay me and then I would resume my work,” said Webber.
Former DA caucus leader in Msunduzi municipality Bill Lambert said he was delighted by the news.
“The city hall clock is the centrepiece and the heartbeat of the city. It’s such a focal point in the capital city,” said Lambert.
“There is actually no reason it should not be working at times,” Lambert added.
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Pietermaritzburg city hall clock ticking again after three years of not working
Image: Jackie Clausen
After three years of not working, the Pietermaritzburg city hall clock has now started ticking again.
This was confirmed by Msunduzi municipality mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla on Tuesday. He said the move to restore the clock had been prompted by an outcry from residents who were unable to check the time at the iconic building.
“We are very happy that the clock has been restored and is reliably telling time again. The residents have been complaining about the condition of the clock and the hall and we assured them that work was underway to fix things,” Thebolla said.
Earlier in the year deputy mayor Mxolisi Mkhize met horologist and curator Mark Webber to find solutions to get the clock up and running again.
Webber said the contract to fix the clock had come through a while ago, but he only received the order number last week Wednesday.
“I went out on and we got it running on Thursday,” said Webber.
The 65-year-old’s job entails clock repairs and restorations.
“Oftentimes the work involves the readjustment of the hammers and the lubrication of the whole clock and winding,” said Webber.
“With these old mechanisms you have to be on top of it all of the time,” said Webber.
Born into the family of clock makers who have been doing this for over a 100 years, it was a no brainer that Webber would follow the same path. .
He worked as an apprentice to his father and later studied clock making through the British Horological Institute.
Over the years, Webber has also fixed and maintained tower clocks at the Kokstad city hall and the Greytown clock.
He has a long track record of working with the city dating back to 2003 when he was first given the contract to fix the city’s clock. His business relations would often be marred by the city defaulting on payments for the work he had done.
“Sometimes I would work for three months and I would not be paid. Then I would stop work. At other times they would pay me and then I would resume my work,” said Webber.
Former DA caucus leader in Msunduzi municipality Bill Lambert said he was delighted by the news.
“The city hall clock is the centrepiece and the heartbeat of the city. It’s such a focal point in the capital city,” said Lambert.
“There is actually no reason it should not be working at times,” Lambert added.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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