Date: 29 Jun 2009
On Tuesday 16th June 2009, there was a lightning strike on or near to the historic clock tower at the RSA Island Centre.
The strike was very powerful and the surge of electricity damaged various alarm systems and the CCTV system at the centre, parts of which had to be repaired or replaced. Fortunately, the clock and bell itself suffered no damage, except that the chime silencer, which stops the clock chiming at night failed and had to be reset.
The clock was made around 1783 by Thwaites & Reed, and is maintained by them to this day. It seems that such historic engineering is very resilient!