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Also known by the name of Diamond Jubilee Clock Tower, the Victoria Clock Tower is a tower of historic importance which was designed by the most prominent architect of the 19th century- Benjamin Montfort. The clock tower was designed around 1858 and was to be placed on the top of the Canterbury Provincial Council Building, but later on, it was felt that the building would not be able to bear the tower’s weight. Therefore the clock and the tower, which were manufactured and received in 1960, were finally placed separately on the Provincial Council Buildings’ stone tower and its respective courtyard in Armagh Street.
However over the years, its position kept changing, and it was in 1939 when it reached its present location- the Victoria Street. It was registered as the ‘Historic Place-Category I’ by the New Zealand Historic Trust.
-The Clock Tower was manufactured using Iron by Skidmore and Sons in Coventry, England; and interestingly, the finished products were sent out to New Zealand in 1860 in 142 packages.
-It is also a fact that because of the heavy cost, Mountfort’s original designs were also somewhat modified. The design, when observed closely, tends to become more delicate as it ascends.
-The wrought iron railing and scroll work were originally wrapped in gold leaf.