TICK TOCK (1)

Posted on Thursday, 26th March 2026 by Janine Rizzetti

TICK TOCK! Before wrist watches became common after World War I, how did you know what the time was, if you were outdoors?

Well, in Heidelberg you might have heard the bell ringing from Chartersville, a large, old private house in Burke Rd North. A large bell had been hung from a tree, and it was rung at 6.00 a.m, 7.00 am. and 9.00 a.m., 12 noon, 1.00 p.m and 6.00 pm.

There was also a whistle at Rouch’s Timber Yard in Burgundy Street (current site of Leo’s Supermarket and car park) which sounded at 8.00 a.m., noon and 5.00 p.m.

From 1882, Heidelberg residents could tell the time from the Austin Hospital clock, which apparently kept very good time until the early 1960s when blasting work on the kitchen below upset the mechanism. The clock, manufactured by Gaunts Watchmakers, added 100 pounds to the 375 pounds cost of the tower. The two bells of the clock, which had been cast in 1856, apparently gave a rather mournful sound. Among the patients at the hospital (which then had the cheery name of the Austin Hospital for the Incurables) there was a rumour that the chiming of the clock denoted that another patient had died. The clock was used by Heidelberg residents as their timekeeper, especially for those running for the train at the adjacent Heidelberg station! In March 1924 there was a suggestion that “the re-painting of the face, or hands, of the Austin hospital clock would be of great convenience to local residents and visitors. The clock chimes the quarters and strikes regularly each hour, but the figures and hands cannot very well be seen at a distance, large though they are. A little aluminum paint on the hands would extend to make them visible day and night.” Apparently a flue from the kitchen below tended to make the clock face very discoloured.

The clock tower, along with the whole original 1882 building, was demolished in 1966 and was replaced by the Harold Stokes building. The clock was kept in storage and was restored in 1987- does anyone know if it has been placed anywhere in the hospital?