In
1868, a Design Competition was held for the design of the Royal Arcade. The
winning entry was byCharles
Webb, a C19th architect from Suffolk. His successful
design was in the Italianate style, drawing somewhat on influential French and
English models. Construction of the Royal Arcade began in June 1869
and finished in May 1870, officially opened by the Lord Mayor. The Royal
Arcade was proudly the first arcade in Melbourne and is the
longest-standing arcade in Australia. Melbourne also has other
special Charles Webb’s buildings including Melbourne Grammar School, South
Melbourne Town Hall, Banks & Co. Warehouse, Windsor Hotel and Tasma
Terrace.
Gog & Magog
Several myths surround Gog and Magog, including one where they were guards of the underworld and gods of dark spirits. Many visitors come to the Royal arcade to see the big statues of Gog and Magog, which have graced the southern end of the arcade since 1892. Gog and Magog are 7’ tall statues which were installed by clock and instrument maker Thomas Gaunt (1829–90) around an enormous clock.
Gog and Magog briefly featured in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament, as invaders. And later references assumed an important place in apocalyptic literature and medieval legend. In London The Guildhall statues of Gog and Magog probably represented two giants who were taken to London to serve as porters at the gate of the royal palace after their race was destroyed by Brutus the Trojan, the “founder” of London/New Troy. The Guildhall had been built in Saxon times, the place to pay taxes.
The two 9’ wooden Gog and Magog figures existed in London from Henry V’s rule (early C15th). The first figures were destroyed in Great Fire (1666) and were replaced in 1708. That second pair was destroyed in a German air raid in 1940 and not replaced until 1953. The current Guildhall, completed 1440, is still used for officials now.In Melbourne, Thomas Gaunt had the two statues in the Royal Arcade carved in pine by Mortimer Godfrey, modelled on London’s Guildhall figures. Gaunt may have done this because he had his work-shop at the south end of the Arcade; the large clock had T. Gaunt & Co written across its face. Clearly it was very good advertising for his business and a good demonstration of his instrument-making!
Scientific instruments produced by the Gaunt Co. included instruments to both measure and record temperature and humidity, mercury-in-glass barometers and thermometers, ten of the Caulfield race Cups, and gold/silver religious jewellery and ornaments, notably for St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne.
Gaunt had many clockmakers working for him, some for decades. It was German-born Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Ziegeler who made the clock in the Royal Arcade for Thomas Gaunt. His meticulous clock making skills ensured that Gog and Magog still perform their ritual every hour, just as they have since 1892. Every hour Gog and Magog strike the bells with their arms and people gather in the Royal Arcade to see this spectacle.
