In the article below, Dr J. Pringle tells the inspiring story of the preservation of the St Johns Presbyterian Church clock in Pietermaritzburg. The piece was first published in the 1980 edition of Restorica, the journal of the Simon van der Stel Foundation (today the Heritage Association of South Africa). Thank you to the University of Pretoria (copyright holders) for giving us permission to publish.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have called this special congregational meeting because we have reached a critical point in the history of our church," said Rev. John Gould Smith, Pastor of the St Johns Presbyterian Church Pietermaritzburg on 19th May 1897. "As you have seen from the Balance Sheet, we have a credit balance for the year of £3.13.5, but this surplus was only possible because repairs to our buildings were deferred. Your Board wish to submit three resolutions -
that the mechanism of the clock in the First Presbyterian Church be sold. This clock is no longer required as the clock in the tower of the City Hall is sufficient for our town; it is a burden on the Church finances as we had to pay £10 last year for its maintenance and furthermore in a few years time it will deteriorate so much that it will be practically useless. We have received an offer of £120 from the Greytown Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration committee.
that the Manse be sold. This house is old, inconvenient and is a continual source of expense to maintain;
