I would like to share a detailed report for all members who were unable to attend the 2024 WCA National meeting held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Sydney over the weekend of the 25th– 27th October. After speaking to many long-term WCA members who attended this year’s event, it appears that as WCA National meetings go, this was without doubt the best ever held in the history of the WCA. So strap yourselves in as I attempt to recap what was a dynamic and memorable long weekend of activities.
I had the pleasure and honour of picking up our special guests Keith and Lynn Scobie-Youngs at Sydney Airport, after their arrival from the UK on Monday evening, 21st October. I must admit I was a little nervous about how to greet clockmaking royalty, the current Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and his Consort but was quickly put at ease with their down to earth approach and friendly manner. It was their first time visiting Australia, and they were very much looking forward to their time ahead in Sydney.
After a few days of recovery for our special guests, Andrew Markerink played tour guide as they made their way west of Sydney to the beautiful Blue Mountains. They were special guests of Katoomba Scenic World’s owner Phil Hammon, who was delighted to meet the maker of the mechanical clock movement and auto-wind mechanism of Scenic World’s famous Steam Clock. This special steam clock is the most complicated in the world and was installed in 2014 at Scenic World. It plays tunes on the hour and the clock case and steam whistles were made by renowned Canadian clockmaker Raymond Saunders.
Phil Hammon also took them on a guided tour of all the rides and a behind the scenes look at the amazing attractions at Scenic World. After a quick lunch stop at Leura, it was back to the city to inspect Australia’s oldest existing public clock, situated at the Hyde Park Barracks. Installed by James Oatley in 1819, the dial and hands are the only existing components of that original clock, and the replacement movement was made by the famous London maker Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy circa 1836. Keith and Lynn were very impressed with this most important and historic clock and were able to complete an informative, interactive tour of the Hyde Park Barracks.
Fabulous Friday
The WCA‘s Introduction to Black Polishing course conducted at Sydney TAFE was the first time this topic has ever been delivered in such depth in Australia. Teacher Rory Macdonald, alias the ‘Black Bearded Guru of Black Polishing,’ had a full classroom of 12 eager students who travelled from as far as WA, QLD, VIC, SA, and NZ. The amount of time and effort Rory put into preparing this training day was clearly evident and matched by the student’s results who all achieved excellence in the art of black polishing. All participants are now much wiser on the skills and knowledge needed in the process of turning a piece of steel into a mirror like finish, the signature of Haute Horology.
All students received their purpose-built polishing tool kit as part of the cost of training, valued at more than double the cost of the course. All students who invested the time and money to attend will be rewarded well into the future when undertaking restoration of high-grade watches, providing customer satisfaction, and developing their skill set in the fine art of watch finishing techniques.
WCA Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb & Town Hall Clock Tour
Whilst the WCA TAFE NSW technical seminar was in full swing, Andrew Markerink once again led the way as some enthusiastic WCA members had a once in a lifetime experience of climbing two of Sydney’s iconic landmarks on the same day with our special guests Keith and Lynn Scobie-Youngs in tow.
Sydney put on a perfect day for the Bridge Climb. The CEO of Bridge Climb Sydney was given a heads up by Phil Hammon of Scenic World and personally greeted the WCA group stating that she had heard Keith was regarded as second only to the King of England hence the title of “King Keith” was born.
The calves of the climbers were put to the test as straight after the bridge climb was the climb up the Sydney Town Hall Clock Tower. Margaret Betteridge, the Sydney Town Hall curator, greeted the WCA tour group and shared many interesting facts and history about this grand old building while ascending the clock tower and belfry. Andrew Markerink, as the current keeper of the Sydney Town Hall clock, took groups up to see the impressive three train flatbed movement made by Gillett & Co Croydon, London in 1883. It has a double three-legged gravity escapement invented by Edmund Beckett / Lord Grimthorpe and was first used in London’s Big Ben clock made by Dent.
The WCA tour group was then treated to a private guided tour through different levels and rooms of the Sydney Town Hall, and it was a great privilege to have Margaret Betteridge share her knowledge with them about this exquisite 19th century building. All participants received a complimentary copy of her book ‘Sydney Town Hall the Building and its Collection’. After a day of climbing, the party made a surprise visit to Sydney TAFE to inspect the students’ steady progress. Keith was very impressed with the school’s facilities, the student’s enthusiasm, and passion, and assisted in the presentation of student participation certificates.
Gala Cocktail Party
Friday night’s WCA welcome set the tone for the whole weekend and the vibe was electric with all members taking the opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones. For many it was the first opportunity to meet our special guests from Cumbria in the UK, Keith and Lynn Scobie-Youngs.
King Keith wore his Worshipful Company of Clockmakers Master’s medallion, bringing some extra bling to the proceedings. Many members then shared a meal and a few more drinks to get the ball rolling and ready for the exciting weekend ahead.
Special Saturday
Saturday’s program was jam packed with outstanding presentations with a diverse range of topics covered:
- Oliver Rivett SA had all listeners engaged in a colourful and very detailed look at watch case polishing techniques for the professional watchmaker.
- Kevin Arendse VIC discussed his must have bench tools for watchmakers.
- Glen Ankins QLD provided an insight into the plight of horological wholesale suppliers in the 21st century and his important role at Labanda.
- Andrew Ross QLD provided a wonderful live demonstration of the application of 3D Printing for watchmakers, with many movement holders produced on the day.
- Graham Mulligan TAS shared about his and his wife Sallie’s amazing research in producing an online Tasmanian horological history site called ‘Hands of Time, The Index of Clock and Watchmakers in Tasmania’.
See www.handsoftime.com.au - Ralph Schweizer NSW shared ‘A Watch Repair with a Story, Uncovering Timely Connections.’ An intriguing story of a JLC watch repair gifted to Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt by the 36th US President Lyndon B Johnson.
- Roy Carnie VIC detailed the history and art of making a marine chronometer spring detent.
- Keith Scobie–Youngs took the opportunity to introduce himself with an aptly named talk ‘Doing Time’ and outlined his time in the horological trade in the UK over the last 40 years.
- Michael Colman VIC gave an in-depth talk about the history of time and despite some technical issues with the computer, left all in attendance a little bit wiser about this important topic.
- Andrew Markerink NSW shared the amazing story of two special 18k gold pocket watches with amazing Royal connections from the United Kingdom and Russia.
- Trent Firth NSW led a brief Q&A session, and the topic of lubrication was the focus but also revealed a new product, Bergeon 8030 ESD Black Rodico with special antistatic properties.
The WCA held its 80th AGM in the afternoon, and then it was time for a bumper auction with many bargains available, and spirited bidding occurred for many items. The turnover for the 116 lots was over $9000, with auctioneer Andrew Markerink and assistant Roger Healey working overtime to secure that hammer sale.
Saturday Night Banquet
The evening was a delight, with over 50 attendees and many partners enjoying the scrumptious meal. The highlight for me was seeing King Keith sitting on his throne, watching the spectacular Darling Harbour fireworks. It was noted that many members continued the celebrations well into the night and some into the wee hours of the morning.
Super Sunday WCA Open Day
The venue for the WCA Open Day was the Upper Deck of the Hyatt Regency – a grand room with a spectacular and captivating view of Darling Harbour and west to the Blue Mountains. It was the perfect backdrop for a wonderful day of presentations. Andrew Markerink commenced proceedings by looking back into the history of Sydney’s public clocks and their important role in establishing time and order in the colony.
Photo: Keith Scobie-Youngs
Keith, our keynote speaker, gave his first talk of the day about the history of The Cumbria Clock Company from its humble beginnings with his wife Lynn by his side to today, when the company employs 29 full-time staff and provides the servicing and maintenance for tower and church clocks all over the UK. Keith shared examples of his recent work restoring Royal clocks at Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, and Buckingham Palace, to name just a few. Keith has also been responsible for the care of the oldest mechanical clock in the UK, at Salisbury Cathedral, dated 1386. His team has also recently been involved in the incredible restoration of the Bowes Museum Swan Automata. Keith also shared that construction has just commenced on new headquarters for The Cumbria Clock Company, with a new 18000 square foot factory and workshop.
Graham Mulligan then provided a wonderful, detailed insight into the works of Thomas Cole, a Victorian clockmaker who specialised in Strut Clocks for many of the high-grade retailers in London in the early to mid-19th century. Graham has worked on numerous Thomas Cole clocks for world-renowned antique dealer John Hawkins in Tasmania. John Hawkins wrote a book on Thomas Cole way back in 1975 and recently released a free online resource on his ongoing research into the clockmaking skills of the Cole family. You can check it out here – https://www.jbhawkinsantiques.com/the-hawkins-pictorial-survey-of-cole-clocks/
Photo: Graham Mulligan
Bergeon brings a touch of class to Super Sunday
It was very special to have Guillaume Bottger from Bergeon in Switzerland on hand to share in the weekend. Guillaume participated in all events over the weekend, and on Super Sunday, he was like Father Christmas, providing all attendees with a Bergeon Gift Bag with over $200 of Bergeon products! Let’s just say there were many smiling faces in the audience! Guillaume shared the story of the history of Bergeon, its origin way back in 1791, and its future plans to provide watchmakers in the 21st century with the best quality bench and hand tools, with over 15,000 tools available in stock.
Keith’s second presentation provided an interesting insight into the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, founded in 1631, and his role as Master in 2024.
Keith’s third presentation was outstanding in providing a history of Big Ben, also known as the Great Clock of Westminster, and some interesting unknown facts and figures about this famous clock; for example, it is the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world.
Keith’s final presentation was the icing on the cake, in which he explained in great detail how his team at The Cumbria Clock Company spent five years restoring Big Ben. He shared the amazing story of the top-secret mission when they transported the entire clock movement back to his workshop in Cumbria and scurried away in the middle of the night in unmarked vans. The whole village kept the big secret whilst they undertook the repairs. As part of the contract conditions, one dial always had to show the correct time of day. This brought about the need for The Cumbria Clock Company team to make a new set of hands used for testing in the workshop and are now on display at Birmingham University.
Keith also explained in detail the restoration of the automatic winding mechanism for the clock, made by Dent and in operation from 1909-1960. We were all amazed by the story of how, in a huge storeroom, he found the missing piece of the puzzle of how the auto winder worked. Keith showed a video of the many steps in the process on how to operate this incredible piece of machinery. It is a credit to his skills and knowledge and a testament to his perseverance to return this important mechanism back to full working order.
A 20-minute Q&A session with Keith provided even greater insight into the repairs undertaken on the clock. It is an amazing achievement for Keith, and from now on, he will always be associated with the great clock of Westminster in London. He is very proud to have achieved it, and it was pleasing to hear that the BHI in 2023 awarded Keith its coveted Silver Medal for services to Horology and leading his team in restoring the most famous clock in the world.
New WCA Federal President Kevin Arendse gave the vote of thanks, and Andrew Markerink presented both Keith and Lynn with a small token of our appreciation of limited-edition solid silver coins of the Harbour Bridge and Hyde Park Barracks.
The drawing of the WCA Grand Raffle was next on the agenda. A special thankyou to our major donor, LVMH and Shalen Gokoolparsadh, for organising a TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional Watch with a retail value of over $5k. The WCA would also like to thank Elma and Labanda for providing over $3K in vouchers and CMI for a splendid Table Clock. Lynn Scobie-Youngs drew the major prize for the TAG Heuer Watch, won by a very happy and excited Alison Firth. The second prize was the Elma $1K voucher, won by Ralph Schweizer, and the 3rd prize was a Labanda $250 voucher, won by Oliver Rivett.
The day came to a close with the afternoon sun still shining brightly over Darling Harbour, and the WCA complimentary bar opened to celebrate and toast a superb and truly memorable weekend. We all had time to reflect on what we had all seen and learnt, and as the sun set in the west, it was time to say farewell to newly found friends.
In closing, on behalf of the WCA, I would like to acknowledge all those who played a part in organising and supporting this wonderful event, with special mention and thanks to all our generous sponsors, BERGEON, TAG HEUER, ELMA, LABANDA, CMI, and Joao Santos. A huge thank you also to our informative guest speakers Keith Scobie-Youngs and Graham Mulligan, outgoing WCA Federal President Andrew Markerink for his steadfast vision and drive to make this event a reality, WCA Federal Treasurer Richard Kubisch, and WCA Assistant Secretary Petra Cole for their unwavering efforts in planning and making the weekend such a great success.
There are times in life when we reflect on our decisions and why we didn’t make the most of that opportunity; for all those who didn’t attend this WCA 2024 Sydney National meeting for one reason or another, BIG MISTAKE! You missed the weekend of a lifetime and one that will live in the memory of all who did attend and witnessed the story of Keith and Big Ben, enjoyed the fun, fellowship, and banter of spending time with fellow watch and clockmakers building networks, learning new skills and sharing knowledge, picking up a bargain at the auction, and embracing the vibe of what makes Watch and Clockmakers tick and why you should feel proud to belong to our organisation and reap the rewards of being a member of the WCA.
Trenton Firth, December 2024.
Trenton teaches watch and clock repair at TAFE NSW and is a Federal Delegate and State Vice President of NSW for WCA.
Sydney Town Hall
L-R: Graham Mulligan, Keith Scobie-Youngs, Andrew Markerink, Trenton Firth
