Horologist Manually Winds Back Sydney's Town Hall Clock

0:00This Sunday at 3am, when daylight saving ends across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT, clocks will snap back to 2am. But up in Sydney's Town Hall Clock Tower, Herologist Andrew Markerink will be there solo, manually winding back the massive hands on that. 55 meter turret overlooking George Street. For 15 years, Markerink has done this twice a year once forward, once back on a clock built from 1868 to 1889. He unscrews fasteners to release century old English gears linked to rods that turn the faces outside. No fancy tech needed, it's all hands on and a glass cabinet at the top. Pressure's real, because everyone spots a glitch fast on such a public timepiece. Markerink comes from 18th century clockmakers and calls the mechanism soulful, like it has its own hard beat. He says proper care means it'll tick accurately for another 1000 years. Last tweak was just 9 months ago.

1:00That night, after Town Hall, his team hit 7 more spots. Central station, Paddington Town Hall, Customs house, Gleed Town Hall, then Camden, Midagong, and Moss Vale. It's 50 years since New South Wales voters back daylight saving in a 1976 referendum by a wide margin. Those Westminster bells up there? Markerink rates them the world's best sounding set, tuned like violins and booming hourly from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As Australia bids some are goodbye for an extra hour of sleep, this old school ritual keeps the city's pulse steady. Local news, powered by AI. This is Sydney News today. I'm Corey with the story.