Time to make history! Giant historic Wellington clock repaired in Rotorua

Blair Shallard was given the honour of repairing Wellington's historic town clock. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rather than the usual battery replacements and clock servicing, a Rotorua horologist has spent a week making history, repairing Wellington's Government building clock.

Time Central owner Blair Shallard won the tender put out by Heritage New Zealand to overhaul the historic clock, in the roof of the Old Government Building in Wellington.

Shallard has been ticking away in the clock and watch repair industry for 26 years, developing the passion during his part-time job at Citizen Watches in his first year of law school, which he dropped out of.

The mammoth job was the biggest clock he has ever worked on, and was greeted with excitement and a touch of trepidation.

The Old Government Building clock being removed. Photo / Supplied

"You don't want to get it wrong, it's a big responsibility with an historic clock."

The clock was made in London in 1876, and installed in 1877, and has been keeping time, other than for servicing, ever since.

That was until New Zealand went into level 4 lockdown, the first time in more than a century the clock was left to run down and stop.

The Old Government Building clock being repaired. Photo / Supplied

Shallard had to wait for level 2 before they could remove the clock, which had been silent for several weeks.

Removing the clock from the building was a two-person job and it took several hours to dismantle. The historic clock is 80cm wide, 70cm tall and 60cm deep.

The pendulum bob, a round flat disk, and the driving weight each weighed 50kg.

A common weight for the bob of a one-second pendulum used in grandfather clocks is usually around 2kg.

The driving weight for the strike clocked in at 200kg.

This is the largest clock Blair Shallard has ever worked on. Photo / Andrew Warner

And how does one feel being part of a significant moment in history?

A modest "great deal of professional satisfaction".

The clock will be taken back to Wellington this week.

The Old Government Buildings

It was completed in 1876, the year a central government was established and was the home of ministers' offices, the Cabinet room and all Wellington-based civil servants for 56 years.

By 1990, the last of the public service departments had moved out, ending 114 years of government service.

Today, the Law Faculty of Victoria University of Wellington occupies most of the building.