On 5th August, 2008, the Sawtell Rotary Clock Tower was unveiled at a ceremony in Sawtell NSW, after five years of planning, design, fundraising, manufacturing and construction. Sponsored by Rotary, the project was a true community project, involving members of the Sawtell community, Coffs Harbour City Council, the Sawtell Progress Association, Sawtell Public School students, Bishop Druitt College students, and many local consultants and contractors. WE Smith Engineering donated most materials and fabricated the tower.nI was involved initially in the design process with my students from the Bachelor of Technology Education course at Southern Cross University. The student developed design concepts through sketch modelling and presented these to the Rotary Club as design ideas. From these ideas, the Rotarians came up with their own concept. The students produced the drawings for this design for the Development Application.nMy involvement after that concerned design and detail development, research on materials and techniques, liaison with Council staff and WE Smiths on working drawing development, and feedback during fabrication.nAfter all this, erection of the clock and glass panels took one day! On the day of opening, I was awarded a Community Service Award from the Rotary Club of Sawtell, along with Cherelle Brooke from Coffs Harbour Council and Peter Higgins from WE Smiths.nThanks to the Rotary Club of Sawtell for the opportunity to be involved. Image: Sawtell Community Rotary Centenary Clock Tower opening (that’s me in front of the clock tower with my Rotary Community Service award – thanks to Jane Seemann for the photo)
