On 8th February, the top of the clock tower that was sliced off a few months ago (to enable other refurbishment work to proceed) was restored to its original position. A photograph of the top piece back in position is below.

All structural strengthening of the foundations, base, columns and beams have now been completed. Over the next two weeks the top section (which has been lifted back into position) will be strengthened and structurally tied in with the rest of the tower structure.

Over the last two weeks, people going into downtown Palmerston North will have noticed that the clocktower has changed somewhat. Our iconic clocktower is undergoing an upgrade with considerable strengthening. At the end of September, the top section was cut using a hydraulic saw, using a timber edge that was attached just below the saw line to ensure it was kept straight. This photograph shows how the cut was done.

The top of the clocktower was then removed for refurbishment. The overall weight of the whole section was 35,000kg i.e the weight of about 20 cars!

When the cross on top of the clocktower was blown down by wind back in March, I missed seeing it before what remained was taken down. In conversation with a friend today, I was informed about a series of photographs that captured the removal. The photographs are well worth looking at and can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/obsethive/sets/72057594095478604/

The Clocktower is to be upgraded and Council is calling for feedback on the concepts which have been
identified as possible options for its renovation.

Please e-mail your feedback to clocktower@pncc.govt.nz

PNCC has put out a presentation outlining the various options. It is in
.pdf format which requires Adobe Reader (if you are running an up-to-date browser you probably already have this installed).
Adobe Reader is a free download and is available by clicking on the Adobe image.

The PNCC consultation document is available by clicking this link: Clock Tower.pdf