Bells ring out after long silence

THE BELLS: Bill Groves (left) and Rotorua District Council property maintenance officer Phil Hunt check the workings of the chimes in Rotorua's Seddon Memorial Town Clock. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

After 30 years of silence, the bells in Rotorua's Seddon Memorial Town Clock have chimed once again.

The Westminster chimes in the tower of the i-Site building on Fenton St - five solid brass bells weighing about 2.5 tonnes - are now sounding every 15 minutes, with an hour bell on the hour.

Getting the bells ringing again was Rotorua District Council property maintenance office Phil Hunt's "baby" for about a year.

"It's really great to hear the bells ringing again," he said.

They will not be running 24/7 but will be trialled between 8.15am and 11pm daily.

Mr Hunt said he was mindful of guests staying at the nearby Princes Gate Hotel and other central city residences.

He had called on watchmaker Bill Groves to take a look at the old clock and bells.

"It's a lovely old clock and it was very satisfying to get them running again. They needed a good overhaul and there's still a little bit more cleaning up to do but they are running well," Mr Groves said.

He added it was not a one-man job, so contacted fellow clock expert Michael Cryns, who maintains Auckland city's clocks.

Earthquake-strengthening work in the i-Site building has not yet reached the clock tower and, after initially thinking the bells would need to be removed, further investigation found it may not be necessary.

The Seddon Memorial Town Clock was named after Premier Richard Seddon, who died in 1906.

The clock and its bells were manufactured by J B Joyce & Co, a company in Shropshire, England and shipped to New Zealand.

According to council records, the clock and its chimes cost 300, about $48,000 in today's money. They were installed in Rotorua's then post office building in 1914.