Ding dong merrily on high: Camperdown’s centrepiece clock tower

The Camperdown Clock Tower, standing prominently in the centre of town, truly is the pride and joy of Manifold Street.

It has been since 1896, thanks to the Manifolds, the namesake of the main street and the town’s pioneering family. 

The 35.5-metre-tall tower is a memorial to Thomas Peter Manifold, the son of pioneering settler John Manifold, who died in a hunting accident in 1895.

The Manifold family, among the earliest Europeans to settle by Lake Purrumbete, in 1839, donated £1,000 for the tower’s construction. A letter outlining the bequest was formally received by the Hampden Shire Council on January 8, 1896.

Designed by architect Michael McCabe, the tower was built from bluestone and red brick, hauled skyward by a pulley system powered by a pony. 

The bricks arrived from Melbourne by rail, and construction progressed steadily at around three metres per week.

Local builder Peter Rodger oversaw the project, which was completed for £983, with the Manifolds also covering the £438 cost of the clock mechanism.

At the outset the clock was set to chime every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, but this didn’t go down well with guests residing at the nearby Leura Hotel. In 1907 an automatic silencer was installed to quieten the 15-minute bells overnight, though they still ring on the hour at all times of the day and night.

The Camperdown Rotary Club opens the tower for tours on the first Sunday of each month, coinciding with the community markets.