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Flying Pendulum February 2011

When does something ordinary and of no value, become something extraordinary and worth something? Well, how about Kiwiana? The collecting and valuing of objects that were once everyday, but, like the NZ Railways and their Crown Lynn cups, is fast becoming a thing of the past, but still held in affection.

Currently at Claphams National Clock Museum, there is a special display of clocks that all have a New Zealand flavour, and could be described as fitting into the Kiwiana genre. When I look at them, I am torn between wanting one on my mantelpiece... just before throwing it into the fire!
But seriously, the display does make you contemplate the psychological subtleties of an artifact that tests what you actually believe in and value.
Is your house so tastefully set out that you would rather eat possum road kill than have, say, the clock in the display that features a kiwi standing on a kauri log in your house. "Darling, where did you get that monstrosity?" "Listen Sheila, that there is gen-u-ine Kiwiana, worth a fortune!"

The cult of Kiwiana has so gripped the Nation that a North Island town has even called itself the Kiwiana Capital of NZ. It is Otorohanga, not far from Hamilton, and the town is wall-to-wall nostalgia, from the giant kiwi as you enter the town, to the Ed Hillary Walkway, opened by the man himself.
And yes, it's all there, from Buzzy Bees to Aunt Daisy to public toilets covered in gumboots and pavlova!

Other Kiwiana clocks in the Clapham's display is a Maori Whare, clocks set in paua shells and one of my favourites, a wooden kauri clock supported by two tuatara rampant! I am finding, almost by default, I am starting to collect Kiwiana myself. At the Matakana Farmers market recently, while fighting my way through the Range Rovers, BMWs and Porches, I found this little retro shop, and handed over five bucks for one of those souvenir spoons that have a towns name on it. Furtively glancing down, I saw a kiwi bird in the spoon bit, and at the top of the handle it read "Cape Reinga, Northland" I had to have it!

The latest "must-have" timepiece to arrive at the Clapham's National Clock Museum is a "must-see" piece called a Flying Pendulum clock. It is called this because it uses a flying escapement mechanism. A small metal ball, connected by a piece of string, wraps around a brass post, unwinds, and then does the same on the other brass post. People who watch this can become slightly mesmerized, but is guaranteed to bring a smile. The idea for the Flying Pendulum clock goes back to the mid 1800s in America, and often came in a kit-set. The one in the Clock Museum was a gift from a woodcarver, Ron Fergusson, who carved various figures and symbols on it. This particular one has Maori motifs, featuring a tiki, manaia and a poi-swinging doll.

Like the rest of the clocks in the Museum, the Flying Pendulum clock is far less about time, and much more about spending a little time enjoying a New Zealand eccentricity.