Page 5 father’s legacy and the son who has cared for the clock that has kept time above the old Armidale Courthouse for more than 145 years, is a labour of love that has been part of the ter Hedde family since the 1950s. Gerry ter Hedde has been winding the historic clock three times a week inside the roof space of the old Armidale Courthouse for 26 years. Every step up the ladders and across the roof space has been etched in his memory, and Gerry says he could probably do it with his eyes closed. A $14,000 quote to clean the clock in 2000 by a firm in Sydney led Gerry’s mate of 50 years, former Chamber Magistrate Brian O’Connell, to ask Gerry what he could do. “I said to Brian that I can look after the clock, I can fix the clock if something goes wrong with it, and I’ll clean it for nothing,” said Gerry. “There was also a bit of gardening to do, so I put in a little price for the clock and the gardening, and I got the little job because there was no one else who could look after the clock.” Gerry has always loved tinkering with old mechanical clocks, something he inherited from his father. While he is not a trained clockmaker, he can usually fix any old clock with a mechanical mechanism. “I maintain the clock, repair it and wind the clock on,” said Gerry. “The bell had been disconnected for many years because of the noise to people staying in the mall, but a while back I was asked to get the bell going again.” “I worked on it for a couple of days. It was all dismantled, but the bell was still there and now it chimes every hour. I think people like to hear it.” said Gerry. The Courthouse was originally built in 1859, and the clock tower and bells were added by Tornaghi of Sydney in 1878. A telegram from Armidale states that Mr Tornaghi of Sydney has just erected a large town clock on the tower in front of the Courthouse there, “the striking of the bell of which can be heard two miles distant. (Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 3 May 1879). Gerry’s family came to Australia in 1955 from Holland and settled in Western Australia for a couple of years. “My father was out of work and my mother knew a lady who lived in Armidale,” said Gerry. “At the time the courthouse clock was not working, and a man by the name of Mr Plunket said to my father that if he could get the clock working, he would get him a job. We moved to Armidale in 1957 and my dad fixed the clock.” Gerry hopes one day the courthouse will be a thriving community space and believes it would make a wonderful museum. In the meantime, he will continue to look after the clock for a few more years. He isn’t ready to hand over the reins just yet but hopes in a few years’ time to find that special person he can train to care for the grand old clock for many years to come. A In 2022 Armidale Regional Council took over ownership of the historic building from the NSW Government. Extensive community consultation has been undertaken on ideas for its future use. The Courthouse walkway project including the conversion of the former Sheriff’s Cottage into a café remains in the Development Assessment phase, with Council’s planning team currently reviewing the proposal. Council has also applied for a $1 million Transport for NSW Safer Cities: Her Way 2 grant to support the walkway upgrades and is awaiting the outcome. Meanwhile, a request for tender is open for an architectural consultancy to develop a masterplan for the adaptive reuse of the historic main courthouse building, attracting strong early interest ahead of its early April closing date. While both initiatives are still in the planning stage, successful grant funding would enable the walkway construction works to begin within the next 12 months.
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