SW restorer working against the clock

Tucked away inconspicuously in suburban Clifton Park is a workshop that is one of the State's few survivors of a dying industry.

In there, Dutch migrant Guido Meens has been lovingly repairing and restoring antique clocks as a full-time job for 10 years and his workshop is a treasure trove of world history.

The walls are lined with an array of clocks from around the world, including two grandfather clocks dating back to 1750 - one of which he bought locally from someone who found it in a shed.

If there were not price stickers on many of them, the room could easily pass as a museum and if clocks could talk, their stories would be endless.

Mr Meens said he had always been intrigued by mechanics, going back to when he would take apart Christmas presents as a boy to see their inner workings.

Restoring takes up most of his time and he even spent six months working on one clock.

The demand is there - "I don't need more work, I already have enough" - and he takes most satisfaction from the challenge of getting unique pieces working again.

"To get something going again, people bring me stuff and it might take me a while but I get it going again," he said.

The industry has its challenges, with a dwindling supply of both young people and parts availability forcing him to rely on improvisation and, occasionally, one of two overseas wholesalers for parts.

Mr Meens - who has a website at www.antiqueclockshop.com.au - believes he is the youngest of the State's "three or four" remaining clock restorers and also thinks the industry will soon struggle.

"We try to encourage younger people but it doesn't talk to them," he said.

"There will always be some people doing it but where a mum and dad might bring a clock to me, that side will go and it will be a shame."

Unsurprisingly, he is also a collector, with his passion being French clocks.

"Most are very individual - it's very rare that you see a second one exactly the same," he said.