by Carla Caruso

After a five-year wait, the floral clock in Brougham Gardens / Tantutitingga (Park 29) is ticking again.

A centrepiece of the gardens, the clock had been out of action for repairs since 2018.

Valdis Dunis, who is an APA Park Ambassador for another North Adelaide Park (Park 6), sent in the below images of the timepiece last month, showing it’s now back in working order.

However, why the clock took so long to fix – and why it’s now operating again – remains a mystery. We’ve been in contact with the Adelaide City Council, but are yet to receive any, well, timely answers.

Can you help? It’s got us a little, ahem, wound up.

The floral clock, installed in 1986, came about through a donation to honour South Australia’s 150th anniversary celebrations and also a tragedy.

Its mechanism was gifted by the Penfold Simpson family – of the wine fame – in memory of their son, Andrew. He was killed in a car accident in 1983.

Fifth-generation Penfolds heir Bardie Penfold Simpson spoke of dealing with the tragedy of losing two of her sons to The Advertiser in 2018 – Andrew in an accident on the road between Victor Harbor and Meadows, just shy of his 18th birthday, and Peter who died of cancer, aged 51.

The remainder of the clock, meanwhile, was funded by donations from the Women’s Sesquicentenary Executive of the state’s 150th Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth officially got the clock started on March 10, 1986. The timepiece was still functioning in early 2017 but was taken out of service for repairs the following year.

In 2005, a flagpole was erected alongside the clock to commemorate the centenary of Rotary International and the 90th anniversary of the Rotary flag.

A time capsule is buried beneath the flagpole, which won’t be re-opened until 2055. Thirty-two Rotary Club branches provided articles for the capsule, although the details of their contents – like that of the clock’s repairs – remain a secret.

Large olive trees, which likely date back to the 1850s, flank either side of the clock.

To learn more about the two formal gardens of North Adelaide (Brougham Gardens and Palmer Gardens), come to our Guided Walk on Sunday, 18 June. Or take the Trail Guide yourself, at any time.

** UPDATE TO THE STORY **

In July 2023, a friend of Penfolds heir Bardie sent us this message: “With much sadness, I want to let you know that Bardie Penfold Simpson died on 1 July after a short illness.

“She was delighted that the floral clock was working again, but didn’t ever get out to see it before she passed away.”