Ding-dong-dang: Wagga Courthouse clock's return an accidental all-nighter

The clock had been offline to allow for refurbishments to be made to the building, and for the first time in a year, on Monday, it was back online and ready to chime. And chime. And chime.

Nearby resident Maureen Donlon was first excited to hear the traditional ring, but when 3am rolled around on Tuesday morning and the hourly ding-dong was still happening, she began to feel less than thrilled.

"It only started going again yesterday and it was exciting," she said.

"I thought it was a nice background noise."

While no doubt a nice background noise during the daytime, the clock worked similar to an hourly alarm going off throughout the night and into the early morning hours.

A spokesperson for Department of Communities and Justice said the night time ringing was an accident due to a timer not being put on, which has since been rectified.

Mrs Donlon said the clock chimed every hour on the dot all night long, keeping her up in its wake.

"It used to be that the courthouse clock was silenced between 10pm and 7am," she said.

"There is no joy in being woken every hour all night long."

Russel Binkham also lives close to the courthouse and said he had to turn his television up to full volume to ensure the chimes didn't interrupt his evening of peace - but he said it still did.

The restoration began in August 2023 and is part of a $4.5 million renovation, which includes work on the building's roof, chimneys and its distinctive clock tower.

Originally, the courthouse roof and clock tower were made of slate, but were changed to copper in 1966.

The work will reclad the deteriorated copper clock tower roof to match the original detail.