The Hopwood Clock Tower, also known as Kerei Te Panau, but most commonly known simply as The Clock Tower, is a
clock tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
, New Zealand. The tower is named after local businessman Arthur Hopwood who paid for it to be constructed in 1953. The Maori name for the clock tower 'Kerei Te Panau' comes from the name of a local Rangitane chieftain.
The modern tower has two luminous features, a 'lantern cross' at its top and light-up glass panes at the base.
History
Originally housed in the city's post office on Main Street, the clock (which is named Kerei Te Panau after a local
Rangitāne
Rangitāne is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe). Their rohe (territory) is in the Manawatū-Whanganui, Manawatū, Horowhenua, Wairarapa and Marlborough Region, Marlborough areas of New Zealand.1942 Wairarapa earthquake for safety reasons and placed into storage. In 1953 local business man Arthur Hopwood, whose family owned a hardware store, paid £10,000 for the council to build a new tower to house the clock. The tower was completed some time in 1957. A band rotunda was demolished to make way for the new tower.
The tower has been renovated many times since its construction. During the early 1960s, a stone cross was added atop the tower. The sound shell at the tower's base was removed 1990. During the refurbishment of The Square in the mid 2000s the building was checked against modern building regulations and was deemed that significant strengthening was needed. The tower was demolished and renewed with a stronger structure that matched the old design. The lantern section was added during this process also. This lantern features a cross inside, a symbol which divided the community as to whether it was appropriate. This process was completed in March 2007 and cost $1.7 million.