In the fair little town of Whangarei you can find 4 spectacular time pieces and a curiously delightful clock museum. All of these mechanisms that tell time can be found within a 50′ radius of each other.
- Sundial: The largest in the Southern Hemisphere
- The Time-Ball which is the last remaining time-ball in New Zealand
- The Ball Clock showcasing a magical combination of mathematics and physics
- Towering Pinnacle Clock
In the photo below you will see the “black ball-clock, towering clock, rolling ball clock, clock museum, and sundial.
The Majestic Sundial
Romans made sundials popular back in ancient times. They used these clocks as a way to synchronize their daily activities. Sundials were invaluable for centuries despite their many limitations.
The sundial in Whangarei is reportedly the largest in the southern hemisphere. It’s gnomon stretches 22 meters into the air.
The clock masters can even adjust the time to accommodate Daylight Saving time.
Time-Ball
The Town Basin Time-Ball was used as a measurement of the precise time and dates back to 1833. It is located at the peak of the marina office roof and promptly falls every day at 1300hrs (1:00pm).
Coastal communities had constructed about 150 time-balls on prominent harbor foreshores. This was the traditional method of telling time until 1934 when the radio time signal became more commonplace.
This is the only time-ball in New Zealand.
Rolling Ball Clock
The Ball Clock is by far the most popular tourist attraction in Whangarei. Dozens of people gather near the clock to watch the balls drop at key times. It is one of our favorite things to do at 1300 (1:00p) as you watch 28 balls zing across the rails.
This is a mathematical and physics dream come true. This machinery encompasses gravity, balance, equilibrium, movement, gears, wheels, and chains,
As time progresses, the balls either tip into the next rack (which displays the actual time) or return to the magazine. The balls will travel via banked corners, loops and spirals.
What time is the lower left photo showing? Answer at the bottom of post.
Towering Spiral Clock
The towering clock stands tall and proud in the heart of Whangarei.
Claphams National Clock Museum
Of course there has to be a clock museum in Whangarei with so many clocks all centralized in one area.
This is a small, quirky museum with every type of clock you could imagine squeezed into a very small space. Certainly interesting to walk through and fun to see clocks from decades ago.
Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual events.
We stayed at Town Basin Marina from late October to early November 2025.
Don’t miss out on our blog post “Racing Rally Cars in Whangarei.”
The rolling ball clock was showing 8:05am.
