The 6 September and 9 September mark the opening of the Clock Tower and old Gawler Post Office.
Back in February of 1867, a committee formed to organise the purchase and installation of the Clock Tower. After public consultation, it was agreed that 3 pence in the pound would be levied to fundraise[i],[ii]. There was however, one slight hiccup in the design; on the eastern face of the clock, the numeral four was accidently installed where the number six should have been[iii].
During a ceremony the Mayor set the clock in motion at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. After, a party gathered across the road at the Globe Hotel (now the Kingsford Hotel) for celebratory champagne[iv].
11 years later, on the 28th of July 1878, the clock gave the town quite a scare; it struck 100 times in a row, seen as perhaps a forewarning for the end of the world[v]. Fortunately, Gawler lived to see another day.
Three days later, the old Post Office, located next to the Clock Tower, opened for its first day of business. It was designed by architect, Mr W. Hanson and built by Pett and Gray from local stone that was sourced in 1866[vi]. The building is now the oldest surviving public building in the town[vii]
[i] Regional Development Australia, Barossa. (n.d.). Design Narratives in Gawler. Gawler, South Australia, Australia.
[ii] South Australian Weekly Chronicle. (1867, June 29). Meeting at Gawler Respecting a Clock for the Post Office. Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
[iii] Town of Gawler. (n.d.). Gawler Historic Main Street Walking Tour. Gawler, South Australia, Australia.
[iv] South Australian Weekly Chronicle. (1867, September 14). Gawler, September 9. Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
[v] Regional Development Australia, Barossa. (n.d.). Design Narratives in Gawler. Gawler, South Australia, Australia.
[vi] Regional Development Australia, Barossa. (n.d.). Design Narratives in Gawler. Gawler, South Australia, Australia.
[vii] Regional Development Australia, Barossa. (n.d.). Design Narratives in Gawler. Gawler, South Australia, Australia.