Sydney restored clock tower will stand the test of time

SYDNEY, Sep 3 (People's Daily Online) -- The much-loved bells of Sydney’s oldest clock tower rang out for the first time in 532 days today following a careful restoration by some of Australia’s leading heritage sandstone experts.

The 17-month restoration of the 55-meter tall Sydney Town Hall clock tower completes the first stage of a lengthy conservation project of Sydney’s Landmark civic building.

Clover Moore, Mayor of City of Sydney, said stonemasons from the Traditional Stonemasonry Company, City Staff and consultants had done a superb job that should make every Sydneysider proud of its history.

The town hall and clock tower were built between 1869 and 1889 from Pyrmont ‘yellow block’ sandstone and, despite being in short supply, the same sandstone was used in the restoration on the advice of heritage experts.

Slight colour differences can be seen between the original building material and the recent restoration work due to the age of the sandstone and the timing of when it was removed from the ground.

The conservation work also included seismic bracing by adding steel reinforcements, the safe removal of asbestos, and installing environmentally-friendly low-voltage LED lighting.

To protect the restoration workers’ hearing and the clock’s mechanism, the historic timepiece was wrapped in protective dust cloth and temporarily ceased chiming in late March, 2012.