For more than 30 years the Rotary Club clock has stood on the corner of Byron and Jonson streets in the heart of Byron Bay – a rare constant in a time of nearly constant change.
But now it seems this unassuming icon is also going to have to make way.
Byron Council says the multi-million-dollar drainage upgrade taking place in the town centre is going to require the demolition of the old clock, and that it’s time for a new timepiece to take its place.
While Council’s recent record of building public monuments has been somewhat chequered, we’ve been reliably informed that we’re not about to get another ‘Disco Dong’.
The new clock will apparently be located just a few metres from the current tower and will be of a similar design.
‘We recognise that it’s a significant monument for the community and Rotary and for the family of Ben King who built it,’ Council’s Place Manager, Claire McGarry said.
‘So we’re recognising that significance as we go through the process.’
The size and shape of the new clock will essentially replicate the current structure, and will utilise the same timing mechanism.
However, the new version will use materials that are both sustainable, more robust, and more graffiti-proof.
Unlike the concrete rendering of the current model, the new clock will be decked out in either tiles or glazed brick.
The colours are still to be decided upon, with discussions taking place between Council and Rotary.
While it seems the new clock will not be a radical departure from the old model, it will nevertheless be the end of an era.
The clock was established through the efforts of the local Rotary Club in the early 1990s, when the idea was conceived by Rotarian Reg Miller because people frequently asked him for the time in his real estate office nearby.
After getting approval from Council, the Rotary Club donated the clock and Council provided the location on the nature strip at the intersection of Jonson and Byron streets, which was prepared by a landscape architect.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
