The Flinders Street Clocks // Melbourne's Malfunctioning Meeting Place!
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- 'Meet me under the clocks' is a well known Melbourne saying, but what are the clocks actually for? How accurate are they? Do people actually meet there? In this video I explore the background of the Flinders Street station train departure clocks, and look at how they operate (or don't) today.
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This video features the song 'Mind of Glass,' by Cian Bennet - who by complete coincidence is also my brother, and who also provides equipment and expertise for my voice-overs in these videos. Check out his music here: hyperfollow.com/cianbennetmusic
All photographs and footage used in this video are taken by me (Martin Bennet), with the exception of that historical shot of the building in the 19th century.
Kind of related to this video, Julian O'Shea made an interesting video about why Melbourne doesn't really have a proper town square (which is probably a reason the clocks became a meeting point). Check it out here: • Why Australian Cities ...
The book I suggest at the end is 'Beyond the Façade' by Jenny Davies.
Chatpers:
00:00 - The most Melbourne thing in Melbourne
00:58 - A bit of history
01:43 - Hello 1995
04:31 - A few more details
05:12 - My 3:30pm sample
08:15 - The role they play today
09:41 - Meet me under the clocks // Mind of Glass
11:18 - The end bit // Another book recommendation
#melbourne #transport #railways #trains
The song in this video is 'Mind of Glass' by Cian Bennet - who by complete coincidence is also my brother, and who also provides equipment and expertise for my voice-overs in these videos. Check out his music here: hyperfollow.com/cianbennetmusic
I loved the music, it's very soothing and relaxing as a background music to the video!
😎🥰
@Taitset. Metro tunnel in a couple years, yeh right
@@peterbarber7613 Why not? They're almost ready to start testing trains now.
This track Martin is simply amazing and beautiful - I cannot stop playing it. The music video is also superb. Your brother is very talented (you are too mate!). Just thought I would comment on it... 🤗
Wow, that bit towards the end had me tearing up a bit, unexpectedly! I hope they continue to maintain these clocks.
seeing those people meet up at the clocks is actually very wholesome
Flinders Street station needs a lot of work to get it back to its former glory. The last investment to clean up most of the outside was certainly welcome, but more needs to happen and it’s a shame we don’t care much about or railway heritage from a government level here in Victoria.
Exactly, hopefully someone puts in the work to restore this great building
Flinders Street Station never achieved glory. The original plan for completely enclosed platforms was never realized and the southern facade was covered with pressed tin designed to look like masonry. The original building design was also altered to add another floor of office space, which meant the height of the ground floor arches were substantially lowered.
I think the station's office building part should be renovated as a premium tourist hotel, there would definitely be a lot of demand for that and it would make for an incentive to clean up the station.
In the ‘60s it was proposed to retain the dome but replace it all with a “modern” office block. There was a desire to roof the platforms as it is cold most of the year.
I had this image of a modern station setting with Tait trains.
Agreed, I'd love to be able to see from the top floors that used to be used for dances. Would be great to see local act's playing there these days.
I LOVE meeting my friends under the clocks, especially if we all hate driving in the city. Funnily enough, depending on the weather “meet me under the Melbourne Central clock” also happens with us.
My dad was on the maintenance team as an architectural draftsman up until the privatisation. At that point the whole maintenance team was made redundant. Since nothing has changed since, I feel you are right when you say that there could be a correlation between the privatisation.
Great video, mate. Both you and your brother have very pleasant voices to listen to. I also love the little Easter eggs: "time to subscribe" on the theoretical clock and "trains are good" on a tram ad are the ones I spotted. 😊
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. And good spotting haha!
@Taitset that's similar to your hurstbridge video 😊
@@SYDTrainsFilms Haha yeah there's lots in that one
“Crimebourne”
In the early eighties the clocks were briefly changed to digital. Melbournians hated the new ones. So the rail authorities went back to the circular dials.
they were shitty TV screens - you could barely read them during the day
@@a7128 I'd just back for a stint in the US and only heard about these new digital 'Clocks'. I didn't actually physically see the clocks.Just heard.
This was mentioned in the video.
I grew up in Adelaide but have spent most of my adult life in Melbourne, and yes I’ve met ppl “under the clocks”. I had no idea what this meant the first time I heard it, but it’s such an easy concept to explain, which is why I think it works so well.
I’m old enough to have met many friends under the clocks, but I thought these days they were redundant and I don’t even bother to look at them anymore. I had an American friend visit last May (2023) and he was very interested in the history of Melbourne and I told him the story of the clocks over a beer at Young and Jackson’s. The next night we arranged to meet for dinner and he insisted we meet “under the clocks”
I worked at Flinders Street for several years back in the 80's. I don't remember if the clocks were accurate back then, but they are certainly iconic! It makes me happy that they're still a meeting place 😊
I'm loving your brother's music! Thanks for sharing 😊
I was a guard back in 1986, lots of memories..
watching the timelapse knowing i too have waited under the clocks, met up with someone, chatted for a minute or two and then left with them made me oddly emotional
the leaning on the green pole in the centre got to me ngl
I always wondered but never bothered to learn about these clocks, thank you! P.S. while I (23yr old) haven't met anyone "under the clocks" post-covid, as a teenager I met people several dozen times and saw plenty others do the same. Although we always called it the "flinders st steps" so maybe the clocks aren't getting the recognition they deserve.
I remember hanging out & meeting with friends “on the steps” in the late 00’s - early 10’s 😂 witnessed a guy lick those steps once and it was truly disgusting hahaha
That's what I say more since "under the clocks" to me refers to the melbourne central clock. I know the phrase is plural "clocks" but when I think meeting place with a clock, I think of melbourne central first. But that may also to do with the fact that I hang out around that area more than around flinders.
I totally agree, on the steps is what I would use or have been told, how interesting...
I just used to say 'meet me at Flinders St station', and it was a given where exactly the was.
Dude regarding the song it fit so well nearing the end… great music too! Tell your brother thay
I met my girlfriend for our first date here in 2019, and we've been together since then. I find it to be a super easy place to meet people as most people know when you say Flinders Street, you mean either under the clocks or in the lobby behind it. Lovely video, super informative too - hopefully the clocks can be cleaned up and made to work as intended.
This feels a lot like the old Light Box departures at Earls Court over here on the Tube. With the introduction of CBTC, LU Heritage took the time to update their electronics and the destinations so they’re still useful today. They didn’t have to (though they would have had to remain in situ because of a heritage listing) but they did. It’s great because they’re so easily visible. It’s a real shame the Whitechapel ones never got saved with the XR rebuild.
Yes, Martin, I still meet friends & family under the clocks!
While thinking of Flinders Street, I remember "The Man in Grey" who hung around Platform 1 when it was still home to country services. He was encyclopaedic when it came to Victorian Railways info. There was a wooden sign hanging outside his hidey-hole which read "Ask the Man in Grey".
That western (now de-roofed) end of Platform 1 used to be a hive of activity, with double-ended single Tait units handling parcels. I'm sure those parcels services played havoc with normal running of passenger services!
I still meet “on the steps” if ever travelling into the city to meet somebody. My parents remember referring to it as “meeting under the clocks” up until the late 90’s or so but having been in semi-niche forums and chat rooms as a teenager in the mid to late 00’s, we always referred to it as “hanging/meeting out at/on the steps”
I definitely felt like it was always a big thing among some teenagers in the late 00’s to talk about looking down on those that “hung out on the steps” (common sentiments like “well I wouldn’t want to be one of those that hang out on the steps” etc.) as they were usually outcast groups (scene kids, ‘emo’s’, skaters etc.)
Hmm, it's like most people stopped looking at the clocks after the 90's… it's as if they stopped being reliable/kept relevant after privatisation…
@@AtomicSource11 I’m glad this is confirmed, I remember growing up and notoriously never looking at the clocks because they never displayed the right time. Albeit; they’ve obviously improved in later years but I do remember when they were completely out of whack to the timetable. 😂
What an awesome conclusion! The timelapse revealing something otherwise not noticed.
And what an awesome song to end on - I REALLY think it was clever of you to let the song run for a few bars before declaring whose song it was, because I found myself really liking the song first and then surprised to find it wasn't who I thought it was, and at the same time if you had immediately declared whose song it was I may not have had the awesome experience of liking it first (and may have even been a bit guarded about whether to like it).
These clocks are a real surprise that the inside and outside mechanism aren't directly linked for simple synchronisation. And I really really liked your photoshop impression of where an additional current time clock might reside, I thought you did such a good job of that in making it look genuinely legitimate - and thus I hope the call to invest a little in making these clocks accurate again can happen - its probably a bunch of raspberry pi's or arduinos to make it happen!
Great video and may your clock wishes come true.
Thankyou for the kind comments, I'm very glad you enjoyed it!
can confirm my friends and I (all of us around 18yo) still use the phrase "meet under the clocks" when we hangout
Great video.
I'd love them to rework the clocks to show how long until each train, instead of the time it departs. I think it'd be more useful for commuters to see that (and how long until the following train) with multiple same-length hands instead of the hour-minute ones.
Like many others have mentioned, I sometimes meet people “under the clocks” but have also referred to it as the “Flinders St Station steps” too. Last year I was meeting my brother in the city on his own for the first time. He a lot younger and when I said to me meet there, had no idea what I was talking about and I had to explain it!
Definitely used the clocks as a meeting place - especially when we were all coming in by train from various lines. Sometimes it was easier to meet at Larry La Trobe, with the added fun that Larry was now and then moved, and was even stolen at the end of August in 1995 and really messed up some meet-ups in the city :)
Really enjoy your videos :)
I have met my mum on occasions "under the Clocks" (we both live in the country, and when we go into the city separately we meet under the clocks). I have also never noticed the Stained Glass windows
The funniest thing is that, as a Sydneysider, if you’d asked me if these clocks were working, my total guess would have been “yeah maybe only some, but I saw some were disabled when I looked once, maybe decommissioned. I wouldn’t rely on the inside clock being the same. Better check if that label even got updated too, probably not since Kennett privatised it.”
Fascinating. Come on Melbourne get the clocks working correctly.
Great music by the way.
Stunning building overall. Truly iconic! The longest hallway I have ever walked down (anywhere in the world to date) and a stunning ballroom, sitting towards the back begging to be used again! Concur, clocks need to 'catch up' with the times. Thx for the video.
I thought The Ballroom wasn't allowed to be opened for the public?
@@planetX15 It's not. I asked to have a look! They obliged! (This was 20 years ago!)
Lived in Melbourne over 30 years. I've met people under the clocks at least 3 times.
It's just the most easily-recognised building in town, so it's the most convenient place to meet people.
I think a lot of people would be willing to donate and even volunteer to tidy Flinders up a bit and keep things like this updated.
I didn't even know those 4 clocks on the side were there! and I've lived in melbourne for my whole life
Departure times make so much more sense, I always thought they had different time zones or something 😅 love the song at the end too!
Met my (now) partner under the clocks for our first date in 2022 - it still happens!
Great video by the way. Thank you for clarifying that you didn't take the photo at 1:19
Similar story!
Not a partner but I met my best friend of almost 10 years for the first time under the clocks 😊
I love your videos, and I love your sense of humour. "A week later...shoes appeared...." :D You're very informative and make me smile. Keep it up mate!
The meeting place has it’s origins from WW1, I remember the wave of protests when Steve Crabb announced their replacement with vacuum tube video displays.
During the renovations I saw some original signs like Kew or Outer Circle Line and Darling.
Mr Crabb said they would dismantle one to see if it could be adapted to be advanced electronically.
I remember the man with a long pole who would change the hands.
Terrific video, Martin. We used to ‘meet under the clocks’ when I was a kid;with several family members usually in the city together, all doing our own thing, we’d meet back there to go home. Of course, I was always last, running up from Hearn’s Hobbies with moments to spare! As a 10-12 year old in 1981-83, it was fascinating to watch the transition from VicRail to The Met, and Flinders Street was a good place to watch the action. The most immediate change was the new ‘Super Trains’ coming into service around 1981, their ultra-modern orange stripes on silver looking like something from Battlestar Galactica or Star Wars, compared to the dirty silvers, grubby blues, or ancient reds we were used to. Of course, as the ‘reds’ disappeared from the ‘big’ lines, we’d still be able to ride them to Dad’s work at Prahran, and it became a challenge to see if I could ride a ‘new’ train and a ‘red’ on the same day. I was obsessed enough to note whether the Tait car I was in had windows that opened downwards or it was one of the rarer ones with windows that were opened by sliding them upwards. Other memories from the time included waiting on one of the platforms for a train and seeing a big electric loco or two growling through the station with a train of briquette wagons, putting up with temporary barriers as the original concourse layout was gutted and modernised, although that may have been a bit later. Thanks for rekindling these memories. Good times!
Great memories Matt, I would have loved to have seen it in those days! I only recently noticed that some Tait car windows go the 'other' way haha.
Over 20 years ago, in 2001, my dad took a selfie across from the station, 'Look at me, I'm in Melbourne!' Fast forward to now and he calls it the 'most tourist thing to do.' We never know where that selfie went.
Loved the song.
I'm a relatively young bloke (born mid 90s) and have used the phrase "meet under the clocks" when catching up with mates. One mate had no idea what i meant.
I used “meet at the clocks” all the time as a teen/20’s. I very nearly suggested it to a friend just a few weeks ago but opted for meeting at their workplace instead. Most recent time I’ve used it is with my mum last year when I was staying in the city and she was coming for a day out with my 7 yr old niece. It’s a time-honoured meeting place that everyone knows. Nice and easy and simple - just the thing you need for a busy place.
Great video! Meeting under the clocks is iconic to the max. there must be a million stories that have begun with that saying here in melbourne
One of the most significant, if not the most, days off my life began with a meeting under the clocks.
We used to note the present day by a new calendar of “FSSUTC plus x (days)”
FSSUTC = Flinders Street Station Under The Clocks.
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Great video. Thanks.
At 1:17 we can see from that photo of the original station that one of the clocks was labeled as "Preston Line" interesting that they chose not to include it in the 1910 station.
By then it would've been the Whittlesea line, and it had moved to terminating at/originating from Princes Bridge, so it makes sense they wouldn't have included it.
Cool Story Martin and wow your brother has a nice singing voice. I’m glad people are still meeting under the clocks even if they don’t know what it means. Greetings from the States
2 things quickly, I do use the phrase meet me under the clocks but generally I need to then specify to people what the hell I'm on about :-)
Secondly, huge missed opportunity here to mention the very cool fact that the stairs under the clocks are heated, and how's and why's of that coming about. Pretty cool in itself.
Great video mate, looking forward to the next.
Wow I had no idea they are heated!
@@Taitset It was installed during renovations and was a call made by the foreman on the job when he saw both homeless people and workers sitting on them in the cold Melbourne days :-)
@@DOfAus That's such a cool story!
Havent met anyone "Under the Clocks" in years. But it was a good meeting point for me and a friend since we'd be catching trains from opposite sides of the city.
I remember so many stories just waiting to meet people “under the clocks” in the 90s. From hanging with Goth kids jacking up lighters into huge flames, signing up for a world vision sponsorship at 15 because I was hot for a girl, calling my friends house on the pay phone because he was an hour late and worrying his Mum, people watching the kids coming out of Dangerfield across the road, oh and listening to the bloody bagpipe guy when I wasn’t listening to Melbourne Hardcore bands on my Walkman because the batteries were dead.
Best bloody childhood ever!!!!
Great video. Loved reading Beyond The Facade which was purchased after a guided tour of Flinders Street Station years ago. I can't recall the Epping and Hurstbridge lines having clocks at Princes Bridge as I was usually running down the Princes Bridge station ramp to catch the train. Sign boards yes but not sure abt clocks.
I’ve moved up the bush now but grew up in the suburbs of Melbourne.. I have used the clocks as a meeting place and watching this video brought back good memories 😊 the music by your brother worked well and sounded really good, very 90s which may be a clever coincidence 🤔😊
Beautiful ending, this channel is superb. As one who grew up in Sydney (now in Newcastle), it was traditional to meet at Town Hall steps (building, not railway station). I am glad to see Melbourne has that special place as well…of course it does! I must say, when I’ve been in Melbourne these clocks are a good , central identifier for starting and finishing navigating the CBD and other areas.
I have never relied on those clocks for train departure times, and thanks to your video, I won't in the future! I have often wondered how reliable they are. At the same time, would I want to see them go? Hell no! It's part of the character of the station. I'm someone who has met quite a few people under those clocks. It's a great place to meet as you are quite visible on those steps and it's close to everything, including a tram if you need it. I really liked your brother's music!!
LOVE Beyond the Facade! It's such a good resource and absolutely one of the most interesting books I've had the pleasure of using as a source for research. I'm so glad to see it getting some love!
Really good video, content, narration and overall presentation! Glad i stumbled onto your channel
Thankyou, glad you enjoyed it!
Great video, and your brother's music (what a coincidence!) is lovely!!
Love the video! My partner and I got very excited when we saw this video pop up - we met for the first time under the clocks in 2021!
Love your vids.
You pretty well answer every question I could have.
Seems quite perfect timing for this video, first time in Melbourne and was meeting people at this very spot!
what an absolute banger of a video
When I First came to Melbourne in 2001, I used to meet my Friends under the clock. I haven’t been to Flinders street station for a while now.
As usual: Very informative. And I totally support your idea :)
Yep, I've met up with friends outside Flinders St before! Good to know some of the clocks are still functioning.
Such a good video. Thank you for making it
Loved this video. Lolled at the shoe teared up at the Timelapse 😊
As an adopted person, I once arranged to meet my biological mother under the clocks. While meeting each other was odd, the idea of meeting under the clocks was a normal thing to do, despite us being a generation apart in age.
Long live the meeting under the clocks !!
That's a great story!
Lots of memorie there.. cheers..
I was looking for myself in the footage the whole time. I always meet under the clocks.
For a building that is such an integral part of the city, it sure does feel neglected. Great video 👍
Great stuff as usual Martin. Personally I have used the clocks as a meeting point before but never as a 'next train' indicator for fear of inaccuracies. Seems I was somewhat valid in approach.
I recall that at some point when print media was still a thing, i read a news article about how they weren't able to fix the clocks, end had given up. I think it's been decades since they have actually worked.
I used to meet people there all the time from my teens in the 90s, until everyone got a phone in the mid 00s, and we'd be a bit more specific. I'm pleasantly surprised to see it still being used as a meeting space. For comparison, when i was young, there would be a lot more people waiting, including in the space behind the clocks, because it would get crowded. You'd often see large groups of people congregating as well.
Cool music. Tell them to come to Sydney for some gigs. We'll meet at the steps at Town Hall!
Sounds good, see you there.
I used to have a very Melbourne job, in the1970's for a while i was a station assistant at Flinders St. It was actually quite fun. One of the duties was to keep the clocks up to date, this was before they were automated and we used a long pole to adjust each clock according to the time table or any last minuet changes. You would have to insert a brass hook at the end of the pole into the clock with out poking any passengers. I remember that at that time both inside and outside clocks were inter connected. Also in the control cabins on the platforms there was a large panel with old round Bakelite switches and you would set them up to indicate the stations that were being stopped at by turning on bulbs behind the indicator board on the platform. An old fashioned microphone was on a varnished wooden box with a sign on it that said. "Let them hear it clearly" and you felt very important making announcements and hearing it echo around the station. You could be assigned to the green ticket booths to check that all the people passing through had a valid ticket or pass but at peak times you could not do that much so basically let every one through. On the over night shift i would sweep the main concourse with a big broom and it was very satisfying. The Tea Room up stairs had an ancient water heater and all the chairs and tables had worn holes into the concrete floor. The best bit was some times you would get to go and assist on the early morning parcels van and throw fragile packages on to the platforms. These trips went out to the end of the lines and on the way back you could sit in the Guards chair and look over the top the Tait van as you had nothing to do then. Hey, do great jobs like this still exist?, i haven't thought about it for years but was fun.
Great memories, thanks for sharing!
Great video. I was a guard on the suburban trains from 1980 to 1990. At one point I worked on the platforms and remember station staff changing the times on the clocks with the wooden pole with the brass hook on it. I also used to make announcements on the platform and would be busy taking to Metrol completing train transposals. It got really hectic during the afternoon and morning peaks and in winter the centre cabin would be full of and station staff and some guards waiting for their trains all trying to keep warm and the cabin would be full of cigarette smoke. I used to love running the parcel vans because we would go flat out and get to go home early if you had a good driver. I did meet friends under the clocks, usually before going to the footy with mates.
It would be great to see these clocks restored, as well bring back the announcer for platforms 2 & 3, remember A la mane, Bell a grave and lil a dale line trains all with that unmistakable Italian accent, easier to understand then the current monotone syrupy voice that is now used.
G'day Martin, the author of the book you suggested is Jenny Davies.
Great work!
I’ve used ‘Under The Clocks’ as meeting point, but I learnt the phrase from a Weddings Parties Anything track of the same. Worth a listen!
I actually asked my friends to meet under the chirping clock at Melbourne Central from around 2009-2013 mostly when I was at high school/uni. After that the shine kind of wore off and I went to the city less often, or I just agreed with friends to meet directly at a venue.
When I was younger I used to meet friends under the clocks often, though we always called the spot "flinders steps" instead
The melbourne rapper Maundz has a song called The Clocks where the chorus talks about meeting ‘under the clocks’
Amazing video, hope a series of the other lines follow!(?)!!😅
I’ve used flinders as a meeting point many times. However I’ve never noticed the clocks or got asked to meet under them. Usually it’s just whichever street entrance is easier.
For me and my mates, "meet me under the clock" is still very much a thing - but it's "clock" not "clocks", and it refers to the big clock at Melbourne Central.
Not sure if this is the same for anyone else
That is my go-to meeting spot too. Sucks that they filled-in the balcony/hole under the clock which meant no more seating space (prob a decade ago now). The only place to sit is off to the side or you just gotta stand around.
I have met many a friend, girlfriends and wannabe girlfriends under these clocks, back when plans were made and not changed via a text message.
Those days are well and truly over but each time I see those clocks, nostalgia hits me like 250 kilos of bricks.
Funny that you should post this today, as I met someone "under the clocks" for the first time today, and thought it's such a supposedly classic Melbourne thing that no one actually does.
I'm a middle-aged Melbourne man and I didn't know what these clocks were for until this video. I think I have just been completely habituated to seeing them, before I had the capacity to look at them properly, and assumed they're messed up regular clocks.
Gosh, I wish Sydney brought back the original board from the powerhouse museum, if Melbourne can keep these clocks as slightly out of date, then refurbish and update them, I am all in for Sydney!
We could even extend the board!
I did once use the Sandringham clock to know I had to leg it, but I've never really used the clocks otherwise.
On the last point about meeting, we also have a similar thing here in Glasgow - under the clock in the concourse of Central station is a popular meeting point!
Interesting, I think I remember seeing them when I visited!
I have to admit I have never met anyone under the clocks because we have always met a Y&J's instead but that really comes down to who you are meeting and what you are in the city for in the first place.
I remember the princess bridge station that was under "sky high" skate park (now fed square) and I remember when it moved to platform 1 but I also remember epping being on the clocks?
Maybe it was when it was across the road. I also remember sometimes in the late 90s that the clocks went digital and it didn't last long.
As far as the saying "I'll meet you under the clocks" goes; I still use it if I'm actually meeting someone there but it was common when I was a teen in the 90s
I'm from Sydney and have only ever been to Melbourne on holiday. I have met local mates under the clocks at Flinder's Street.
Can attest that I regularly meet people under the clocks. It's always under flinders clocks, melbourne central clock, or Bowen street
Yes use to do that when meeting friends in city even now with phone cheers
I had an idea. The boards can be replaced with screens installed into the boxes and keeping the clocks slaved to it. You can change it to reflect what is departing each platform.
Alternatively change and restore the clocks to original condition with a sign saying they no longer reflect the state of train departures
I used the clocks all the time as a meeting place as a kid! In fact I met my now spouse for our first date under the clocks almost a decade ago, we went to Carlton Gardens for a picnic then to the museum. Plus I used to pass by or through them every day during Year 12. One time that year while making my way home under them, I was so tired that I apparently missed a friend waving at me and saying hi, and walked right past her - she decided we were not friends after that, lmao.
It's always been a starting place for a date when younger and I still find it romantic to meet someone there today.
People from out of town meet people under the clocks. Its very common when you dont know many places in the CBD, you know the clocks. Especially if you've come into town for something like the football, the art galleries, fed square, southbank or to go on a tram somewhere else.
I used to meet my friends there and one them actually said "under the clocks", and I have also met a few other people there too. And that is also where I wait for someone if I arrive before them.
lol I never realised the clocks actually worked- and this is really showing I'm from Brisbane but i've never even heard of Alamein!
This confused me for a while when I first moved to Melbourne:
"Meet me under the clock" = Atrium of Melbourne Central
"Meet me under the clocks" = Front of Flinders Station
"Meet me at Clocks at Flinders" = The pub outside Flinders Station next to Princes Bridge
I lived in Melbourne all my life and while I have heard of the expression, I've never actualyl arranged to meet under the clocks, nor have I ever used it for information. My friends and I would mostly meet at the end destination, and usually would travel via Southern Cross, as that was closer to stuff like the Stadium, Crown, the expo centre, and the bars / clubs we would go to.
I can say that I can't remember the last time I looked at those clocks for departure information... maybe I did once and it was inaccurate.
Used them many times as a meeting place... not so much since COVID though.
It is where I always met friends in the city. In the building above is (or was) a magnificent ball room, I wonder if it is still up there. I always felt sorry for the passengers on the Princess St Bridge platforms as they missed going into the lovely Flinders St building. As a kid it took me 17 years before I went over to the Princess St Bridge just to have a look. One of my favourite memories was standing in Museum station when a wayward red rattler came through the underground.
The ballroom has been restored and is used for various functions. Recently there was an art exhibition there.