Landmark clock gets timely fix

You will soon be able to set your watch by the Havelock North town clock.

After three years of getting the "hiccups" and being tweaked back into life, the clock is about to undergo a time-saving operation.

For nearly a year the timepiece has not been functioning at all.

Delays in being able to repair the clock have been caused by the need to carry out an engineering assessment on the building prior to ordering the replacement, and organising the delivery of the special internal workings that would fit into the original.

Hastings District Council said the clock would be "functioning perfectly" by the end of July " well ahead of its 80th anniversary on June 11 next year.

The project is costing $16,000.

The issue came to a head last year when the specialist who had been tweaking the clock advised the council he could do no more to keep it going given the mechanism's age.

He said the "technology was worn out."

So the hunt was on to find a company specialising in heritage-styled clock parts which would fit.

Havelock North company Lauranka was charged with finding the replacement for the council.

"The suppliers have replicated the existing face and hands as close to the original as possible," the council said.

The replacement is coming from Bodet, a 150-year-old French company which specialises in timepieces.