Hornsby's water clock

Hornsby's got a nice feel to it, in my opinion, and a few meritorious features. I'm not so much thinking of the enormous hole in the ground quarry that nobody knows what to do with, or the rather large Westfield shopping centre, but it's got, for instance, a unique and quirky water clock.

It's a big, clanking, swishing thing, and it's actually got three separate clocks. and a 17-note bronze carillon. The latter is supposed to sound out the time, but I think it's been largely silenced to placate nearby residents. The clocks, Wikipedia tells me, are a Greek clepsydra, a Chinese water wheel clock, and a Swiss pendulum clock.

It's full of representations of local wildlife, and of philosophy, 'contrasting man's historically joyful creativity with his rapidly increasing inability to co-exist with virtually all forms of life on earth'. I rather like it. It makes for a rather special central focus for the suburb.

A few years ago I went to a talk and concert at the site, given by the clock's creator, Victor Cusack, who played the carillon and told us more about it all. Well done, Victor.

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornsby_Water_Clock