Dunedin's Municipal Chambers clock will need to be dismantled and painstakingly cleaned after being exposed to a "war zone" of dust and debris from construction work, clock caretaker Jeff Martin says.
He told the Otago Daily Times contractors working on the Municipal Chambers upgrade appeared to have ignored steps he suggested to protect the historic clock from dust.
As a result, a coating of the fine but potentially damaging dust had found its way into the mechanics of the clock, which dated back to 1880 and was perched high above the Octagon in the Chambers' clocktower.
The entire mechanism would need to be dismantled and cleaned over a week or more, he said.
"It's in all the wheel pieces and gone down into the bearings. It would be totally irresponsible to keep running it like that, especially after it's gone so nicely for so many years.
"It's quite depressing really."
Council city property assistant manager Rhonda Abercrombie said she was aware of Mr Martin's concerns, and was arranging a meeting between him and contractors this week.
"There is a possibility we are going to have to do a little bit of work on the clock as a result."
However, Mr Martin's decision to tell the media about the problem was "a major concern to us", she said.
"I'm actually quite concerned and will be talking to him. He should not have raised this issue with you. It was not his place to do so."
She was only alerted to the clock's condition by Mr Martin on Friday, and had yet to discuss it with contractors.
Mr Martin said he did not believe the dust problems had caused last week's mechanical glitches, which led to the clock's chimes being deactivated on Tuesday until repairs were carried out on Friday.
However, he had advised contractors earlier this year to keep doors leading to the clock's mechanism closed, and to place tape over joins in the wooden and glass case that housed the mechanism.
That advice had been "totally disregarded", he said.
"Nothing was done."
The Town Hall redevelopment was being overseen by project manager OCTA Associates Ltd, with Amalgamated Builders Ltd securing the construction contract.
OCTA Town Hall project manager David Booth acknowledged anything affecting the clock had "huge public interest", but insisted steps had been taken to protect it, including closing doors where practical.
He was not aware of a request to tape closed the case housing the clock mechanism, "so haven't acted on that information".
Unfortunately, the stone and fill material used in the heritage building's construction meant any refurbishment work generated dust "that travels for miles within the building".
"All best endeavours can't guarantee that we're not going to end up with dust in the areas that it shouldn't be."
He would meet Mr Martin this week to discuss the issues, and if faults were identified "we'll act expediently to rectify it".
ABL director and area manager Richard Johnston said his workers had "done everything asked of us".
"If we've done something wrong we would certainly sort out whatever we had done wrong, but I'm not aware that anyone's telling us we've done something we shouldn't have, or neglected to do something."
