There’s a timely issue that strikes at the very heart of Brisbane that’s got me pretty ticked off lately. The clock in Brisbane City Hall is late. The clock in the Brisbane City Hall tower is running late.
Credit: Adobe Stock Exactly one minute and five seconds late, lately. I don’t have time for that. I first noticed the historic clock that looms over King George Square off Ann Street was late several months ago when it chimed to mark a 15-minute interval and the Brisbane Times’ journalists began to scurry into the morning news conference.
Except it was not exactly 9.45am, I realised upon glancing at the time on my desk phone, a device that has become almost obsolete as I only use it to check the time (I use my mobile phone for actual phone calls because who is tethered to landlines these days?). It was a minute or two after 9.
45am. Or was it? Dismissing my confusion, I forgot about the mistimed clock bells and by the time I thought about it again, and checked against my phone’s time, the City Hall clock was dinging and bonging bang on time. But it’s wrong again, and as I’m lucky enough to have a front-row view of City Hall from my desk, and column space to fill, let me reveal the findings from my horological investigation.
Reporter Felicity Caldwell took a video of the City Hall clock chiming late, comparing the time with her watch. My watch says it’s 4.01pm, but the clock bells say it is 4pm.
This is a screengrab. Credit: Felicity Caldwell The clock was bui.