Talk:Hokitika Clock Tower

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Yoninah (talk) 19:41, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

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Hokitika Clock Tower in 2015

• ... that the Hokitika Clock Tower (pictured) on the South Island's West Coast combines the for New Zealand unusual aspects of war commemoration with the utility of a town clock?

Source: Stated on page 63 of the 1990 book The Sorrow and the Pride : New Zealand War Memorials written by two historians.

• Reviewed: Introduction of species to Mana Island

Created by Schwede66 (talk). Self-nominated at 19:52, 8 September 2020 (UTC).

• This article is new enough and long enough. The image is suitably licensed, the hook facts are cited inline, the article is neutral and I detected no copyright issues. A QPQ has been done. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 06:35, 10 September 2020 (UTC)
• Little note per at WT:DYK. Promote before 25 September into an even number prep set. Vincent^LUFan (talk) (Kenton!) 11:26, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

• @Schwede66: Hi, I came by to promote this but the hook wording is very awkward (combines the for New Zealand?) Could you rephrase it? Perhaps:
• ALT1: ... that the Hokitika Clock Tower (pictured) on the South Island's West Coast of New Zealand serves the unusual dual purpose of a war memorial and a town clock? Yoninah (talk) 13:30, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

• Or:
• ALT2: ... that the Hokitika Clock Tower (pictured) on the South Island's West Coast of New Zealand is a war memorial in the form of a town clock? Yoninah (talk) 13:40, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

• @Yoninah: Thanks; no trouble. Let’s go with ALT1. Schwede66 16:11, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

• Thanks. Restoring tick for ALT1. Yoninah (talk) 19:37, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Hokitika Clock Tower/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Zawed (talk · contribs) 06:29, 19 September 2020 (UTC)

I will take this one, it makes a change from Rowing 8s... Comments to follow in due course. Zawed (talk) 06:29, 19 September 2020 (UTC)

Lead

• ...was Henry Michel, who was the mayor of Hokitika... for sake of conciseness, suggest: "...was Henry Michel, who was the mayor of Hokitika..."
• ...the upcoming coronation of Edward VII became known and the tower was designated to also commemorate that occasion. suggest: "...the upcoming coronation of Edward VII became known was announced and the tower was designated to also commemorate that occasionevent."
• ...project (she raised 7% of the cost) and... rather than using brackets, suggest: "...project, raising 7% of the cost, and..."
• ...shipped down for assembly. suggest for clarity: "...shipped down for assembly on site."
• link Wellington, Auckland, roundabout?

• All done. Schwede66 02:07, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

History

• Suggest adding a little context for the location of Hokitika, e.g., the South Island of New Zealand
• link New Zealand premier?
• The chronology of the first paragraph is a little off; the agreement to send troops to support Britain in the conflict (i.e. the Second Boer War) was in September 1899, but that didn't start until the following month.
• I suggest future tense for the end of the first para, i.e. Westland would send 130 men to serve in South Africa, four of whom would be killed. This would better fit in with the next paragraph which starts in June 1900

• Done all the above. Schwede66 02:07, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

• The site had previously been... Suggest "The selected site... Are there links for the Westland pioneers?

• Well, I don't think so. They all came from pioneering families and have notable relatives, but they themselves died too early. The closest to meeting notability is George Dobson; he got murdered as part of the Maungatapu murders (that said, Dobson's murder isn't even listed there; somebody pointed this out back on the talk page in 2009). Anyway, I've added some context, created Wikidata entries for the four, and added the Wikidata links as hidden notes. I'm wondering, though, whether this is too far off topic. What do you think? Schwede66 02:07, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

• ...in late November 1901.[9] In December 1901,... Rather than use similar construction to end and start back to back sentences, suggest: "...in late November 1901.[9] The following month,..."
• The committee responded that they did not have enough time to prepare everything and... suggest: The committee responded that there was insufficient time to prepare and...

• Both done. Schwede66 02:08, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

• apart from Hokitika Borough itself I don't understand why this is the case? Wouldn't he want the town to be having a public holiday so everyone could attend?

• Oops. I meant to say something different. Fixed. Schwede66 02:08, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

• ...scheduled visit on 14 February. Add 1902 here as the narrative had jumped to the next year
• I think the table is misplaced here, it should go immediately following the discussion of the winning motto. Also it may not be best to hide the table since that leaves the heading "Rated Mottos" in isolation, which looks odd. It looks like it is the heading for the third paragraph
• ex West Coasters; I think this should be "ex-West Coasters" or perhaps former West Coasters
• link Edward VII
• ...shares the dual function of a Boer War memorial and Edward VII's coronation... suggest "...shares the dual function of a Boer War memorial and commemoration of Edward VII's coronation..."
• link Marton
• The mayor of Hokitika Borough, Henry Michel, spoke... dupe links here
• Louisa Jane Seddon (the premier's wife) Suggest identifying her in full on her previous mention, in relation to fundraising

• All done. Schwede66 02:20, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

• General Babington (a Boer War veteran who by then was Commander of the New Zealand Defence Force) I'm going to be pedantic here: his rank was major general, and technically it was the New Zealand Military Forces (the Defence Force didn't exist at the time).

• That's your area of expertise. Who am I to disagree with you? Schwede66 02:20, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

Construction

• Auckland is linked twice
• Alfred Bartlett (1818–1909) as a style, I think his dob/dod be dropped, none of the other individuals named are presented in this way.
• Each of the square bases facing outwards (i.e. eight faces) This might need clarification; what I think you are describing are the two faces defining each outer corner carry the tablets?
• Suggesting linking belfry, finial
• Having the images of all the tablets is excessive, perhaps only one or two (the two relating to the motto), with the rest going to Wikicommons and link provided on the article page? Actually, any pictures of the corners of the square bases? That may help provide some context for the reader regarding the placement of the tablets.

• All done. Regarding the last issue, I've cropped one of the square bases and put the respective tablet photos to either side. The crop isn't in focus but I've asked Mike, who is currently in Hokitika, to please take a better photo for us. Schwede66 03:05, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

Changes

This paragraph is quite short, I suggest integrating it with the Construction section. The Heritage section is also short, but its subject matter doesn't lend itself to integration with the Construction section so should be in its own standalone section. Perhaps add some context if possible - where does it sit in respect of other Boer War memorials deemed to be Category II heritage structure?

Have integrated it. I've just found a decent photo of the original iron chain fence and have thus added a gallery showing how the base of the tower has changed over time. See what you think of that. Schwede66 03:19, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

Citations

• Suggest being consistent with the presentation name of the citations, most appear to be title case, but some aren't, e.g. Note 26.
• Issue number for note 17 (Greymouth Evening Star)?

• Have picked title case and added the missing issue number. Schwede66

That's all I have for now. Cheers, Zawed (talk) 10:38, 26 September 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, Zawed. That was a very thorough review – well done. I promise I'll keep the rowing books on my bookshelf for now. Schwede66 03:32, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

Schwede66, this is looking really good and I like the extra photos that you have used, they are more engaging than a series of tablets. I slightly rephrased the mention of Babington, please check you are happy with the wording. I have spotted one thing that I missed first time around. In the lead, it says the tower "is the most prominent landmark in Hokitika, New Zealand." That it is the most prominent landmark doesn't appear to be supported by the body of the article. The only other thing are those Westland pioneers; I had meant only to link the names if they had existing articles. I agree the bracketed material providing information on the pioneers is getting off topic so think it is preferable to remove them to just leave the names. Zawed (talk) 08:08, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

All done. Schwede66 03:24, 5 October 2020 (UTC)

I made one little tweak to your changes, I hope that is OK. The article looks good and I am passing as a GA as I believe that it meets the relevant criteria; it is stable, well written, reasonably covers the topic, is reliably sourced, neutral in tone, and appropriately illustrated. Great work! Zawed (talk) 05:59, 5 October 2020 (UTC)