Wed, 10 December

CHRISTCHURCH MUNICIPAL WORKS Catalog No. 1987-043 Brass reduction gear assembly, circa 1923 Manufacturer: W. Stevenson & Co., Woolston Medium: Phosphor bronze, naval brass, tallow residue Dimensions: 38 × 38 × 12 cm (assembled) Recovered from the Antigua Boatsheds pump station during the February 2011 demolition survey. The primary drive wheel shows asymmetric wear consistent with decades of single-direction operation under moderate tidal load. Note the patterning on the largest face— what the salvage team initially mistook for decorative engraving is in fact the accumulated script of friction: each scratch a sentence the mechanism wrote to itself about the river. Donor: Christchurch City Council Condition: Operational at time of recovery. No one has since asked it to prove this.