Claphams Clock Museum

Claiming National Status is the clock museum.

Clapham’s Clock Museum is a classic collection of over 1500 clocks, one of the world’s largest, with some of the items made by the original collector, Archie Clapham, himself. The smallest clock in the collection has a face like a tiny flower and is no bigger than your thumbnail. Among the collection is a beautiful Ballet Clock, brought to New Zealand during the whaling days, and others in finely carved cases, such as an 1890 German table clock. From Parliament Buildings in Wellington comes a Speaker’s clock which let members know how long they had to finish making a speech. A clock from the 1879 French Exhibition sports a rose bush from which a bird whistles on the hour. The oldest in the collection is a 1720 lantern clock from Sudbury, England. Other clocks on display include lamp clocks, lantern clocks, 400-day clocks and turret or tower clocks, shadow clocks, memorandum clocks, atmospheric clocks, water clocks, skeleton clocks, musical bird clocks, children’s clocks, hobby clocks and a balloon clock. There is also beautiful replica of Big Ben made of New Zealand timbers. The collection, one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections of timepieces, can be found at the Whangarei Town Basin, next to the largest sundial in the southern hemisphere. A shop attached to the museum sells clocks ranging from pocket watches to grandfather clocks. Because many of the exhibits are working clocks, the museum is a symphony of chiming bells, cuckoos calling, trumpets blowing and music boxes, some of them up to 200 years old, playing tunes, many of which are still known today.

Image Credit: Alanah Stigsdottir