What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 4:30pm Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm Thursday 9am - 4:30pm Friday 9am - 4:30pm Saturday 9am - 4:30pm Sunday 9am - 4:30pm

Claphams National Clock Museum

Name: Claphams National Clock Museum
Address: 95 Dent Street, Town Basin, Whangarei, 0110, NZ
Telephone: +6494383993
Price range: $
Rating: 5

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Claphams National Clock Museum

Claphams National Clock Museum It is now not only Archie’s clocks, but many hundreds of others have been added to the collection.
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When Archibald Clapham, in the country town of Yarm in Yorkshire, received a music box for his 7th birthday back in 1889, no one could have known it would be the start of a weird and wonderful museum on the other side of the World. Archie’s passion for clocks and music boxes followed him to his new homeland and as his interest grew, so did the public interest. Archie’s collection became known all

over the World and he enjoyed showing people his hundreds of clocks and music boxes in his own home. When Archie died in 1963, he had made sure the collection would live on, and since then, it has been on public display in his hometown of Whangarei. If you think for a minute that clocks are just clocks, and a clock museum sounds a bit dusty and boring...you have not seen Claphams Clock Museum! It happens every time…a nice couple from say Australia will drift into the Clock Museum, looking slightly bemused, and they have this look on their face “ is this really going to be much fun”…an hour or so later they come out beaming saying “ I havn’t had such a laugh since Roger ran the tractor over his foot!”

21/02/2026

Whangarei local, Jo-Ann, and her grandchildren recently visited the museum. They had come to see this impressive grandfather clock dating to c. 1690, currently the oldest in our collection. It was Jo-Ann’s grandmother, Marie Anne Hammond, who generously donated the clock to the museum. It was brought to New Zealand from England by Marie’s mother who owned an antique shop.

16/02/2026

Today, at the start of the Year of the Horse, we wish you a happy, healthy & prosperous Lunar New Year. We have a Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking guide, please check with us re her availability if you would like to book a tour.

13/02/2026

Romantic themes were a favourite of clockmakers and these timepieces were often given as a special present to a loved one. Enjoy your Valentine’s Day.

09/02/2026

The museum will open at 10 am today, Tuesday 10th. Apologies for any inconvenience.

05/02/2026

We Kiwis are a creative bunch, whether it’s building a skeleton clock from scratch, constructing a model of “Big Ben”, or adding a bit of paua "bling" to a plain clock. We are also generous, though few are as giving as Archie Clapham who gifted his amazing collection of timepieces to the city of Whangarei for all to enjoy. Come and have a look this Waitangi Day, we are open 9am – 4.30pm.

31/01/2026

Villagers in the UK have been celebrating the 500th birthday of the clock in their parish church.
The timepiece in rural Oxfordshire is believed to be one of the oldest clocks in Britain still in its original location. The decision to install it in the church was taken when Henry VIII was on the throne.

23/01/2026

Have a safe and enjoyable Auckland / Northland anniversary break.

We are open 9am – 4.30pm throughout the long weekend for an iconic Whangarei must-do experience.

17/01/2026

On this day in 1778 James Cook located the Sandwich Islands – modern-day Hawaii. To navigate he used a replica of John Harrison’s H4 chronometer. Its accuracy was crucial to his success in locating and charting this island group. Cook referred to the chronometer as “his trusty friend”.

10/01/2026

January 11th, 1838, the first public demonstration of telegraph messages was sent using dots and dashes by Samuel Morse. 30 years later and driven by the need for all the telegraph stations to open and close at the same time, New Zealand introduced a standard time nationwide. Previously every town operated on its own local time and, with a time difference of 34 minutes between Invercargill and Napier for example, many urgent telegraphs were not received until the following day.

03/01/2026

January 4th marks World Braille Day in celebration of its creator, Louis Braille (DoB, 4 January 1809). Louis was blinded as a small child, but as a student he developed an ingenious system of tactile code that allowed the blind to read and write. We have a number of Braille timepieces with raised tabs and dots in our collection.

31/12/2025

Happy New Year! Health and happiness to you and yours in the new year ahead.

27/12/2025

Don’t be too disappointed if this Graff Hallucination watch wasn’t in your Christmas cracker. Featuring 110 carats of extremely rare, multi-coloured diamonds set in a platinum bracelet it is considered the world’s most expensive watch with a valuation of US$55 million…

Address

95 Dent Street, Town Basin
Whangarei
0110

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9am - 4:30pm
Friday	9am - 4:30pm
Saturday	9am - 4:30pm
Sunday	9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+6494383993

Website

http://www.claphamsclocks.com/

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