Sandakan Jubilee Memorial Clock
The Sandakan Jubilee Memorial Clock was a clock tower in the town of Sandakan , British North Borneo , to commemorate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee in 1887. However, the clock tower was not completed until the Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The building, which was also known as the Sandakan Clock Tower , was completely destroyed in the Second World War.
history
On March 21, 1887, the Governor of British North Borneo, William Hood Treacher , invited various representatives of public life to a meeting to discuss the contribution of the country to Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee .
The 38 members of this committee - consisting of 9 Chinese businessmen and traders, 13 local Imans, Mecca pilgrims and chiefs as well as 16 Europeans from various government offices and offices - met on April 19, 1887 and decided, among other things, to set up the British North Borneo Museum. Up to the 60th anniversary of the crown, which was celebrated with great pomp on June 20, 1887, 800 Straits dollars were collected for this "Jubilee Memorial".
However, it turned out that this sum was by far not enough for the construction of a museum, so that the governor finally suggested on November 12, 1887 the construction of a tower with a public clock as an alternative.
In August 1888 it was announced that the Jubilee Clock was to be erected as a tower clock with four dials of four feet in diameter. The clocks should be provided with a frame covered with opal glass. The digits and minute lines should be black with gold-plated rings. A two hundredweight bell was provided for the chimes of the hour. A dedication on the tower was meant to commemorate the queen's reign.
On September 7, 1888, it was agreed that the site should be located near the shipyard in the immediate vicinity of the customs house.
For a long time it was quiet again about this project and the citizens of Sandakan had to rely on the widely audible shot of the noon cannon at Fort Pryer for the time. Although the tower bell had already arrived in Sandakan in 1888, there was no trace of a clock tower or clockwork. The subject was not taken up again until 1895. At a public meeting on April 8, it was decided that the clock should be temporarily installed in a vacant space next to the governor's office and later permanently on Barn Hill . Dr. By July 1, 1895, Dennys managed to get hold of the individual parts of the clockwork, which were scattered over several government storage rooms, and to assemble them into a functional unit. Since it turned out that the leveling work on Barn Hill would be more complex than planned, it was agreed on June 18, 1896 to build the clock tower next to the Governors Office .
In February 1897, the construction of the Belian tower (Eusideroxylon zwageri) began according to plans by Charles Crakanthorpe of the China Borneo Company, which was also responsible for the construction under its managing director Walter G. Darby. In May, the structural part of the clock tower was finished and the installation of the clockwork began.
On July 5, 1897 - ten years after the Golden Jubilee, but at least in time for the Diamond Jubilee - the Sandakan Jubilee Memorial Clock was ceremoniously given to its destination by Mrs. Beaufort, the governor's wife.
In the period that followed, however, it became apparent that the movement was a haven for technical problems. Inaccuracies in the display of the time made constant adjustment work necessary. the clock itself became the target of public ridicule. In the January 16, 1899 edition of the British North Borneo Herald , the editor-in-chief wrote:
“The Jubilee Clock faces have evidently quarelled amongst themselves, two dials differing from the other two by then minutes, much to the bewilderment of the natives. There is, however, an advantage to the clerical staff. They can come by the slow one, and leave by the fast one. "
In 1905 it was reported that the day laborer who was entrusted with winding the watch was working on the clockwork, causing the watch weights to fall, which in turn destroyed the escape wheel. For a short time, the time in Sandakan was therefore indicated by a gong that was struck by hand. After two weeks, however, the clockwork was repaired and the citizens were again provided with an inaccurate time. Equipping it with a new movement in the spring of 1911 also brought no improvement. The well-known problems persisted and were also mentioned in the British North Borneo Herald in 1939.
The Sandakan Jubilee Memorial Clock eventually fell victim to the bombing of Sandakan at the end of World War II; the remains went up in flames along with the city when the Japanese set the city on fire as they retreated.
literature
- KP Tabrett: A Lost Sandakan Landmark - The Jubilee Clock , unpublished manuscript, Sandakan City Archives, Perpustakaan Wilayan Sandakan (Sandakan City Library)
Individual evidence
- ^ British North Borneo Herald , text of the WH Treacher circular, 1887, p. 102
- ^ British North Borneo Herald: Minutes of First General Meeting , 1887, p. 102
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1887, pp. 278-279
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1887, 161
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, Description of the Bell Tower, 1888, p. 461
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1888, p. 527
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1895, p. 99
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1895, p. 156
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1896, p. 217
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1897, pp. 182-183
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1897, p. 270
- ^ British North Borneo Herald (1905), 143
- ^ British North Borneo Herald (1905), 151
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, 1911, p. 10
- ^ British North Borneo Herald, Venerable Clock Tower , 1939, p. 22
- ↑ Tabrett, page 6
Remarks
- ↑ In the British system of units, the weight of the bell was given as 2 cwt , which corresponds to about 101.6 kilograms.
- ↑ Translation: The anniversary clock is obviously at odds with itself, two dials differ from the other two by 10 minutes, much to the alienation of the natives. On the other hand, it also has advantages for office workers. You can start work with the slower face and finish with the faster one.