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All Australia Melbourne Gog and Magog

Gog and Magog

These mythological giants take time out of their busy day guarding a Victorian market to let you know what time it is.

Melbourne, Australia

Added By
Fran Miller-Pezo
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Gog and Magog and Gaunt’s Clock   Alpha
Vintage photo of the pair (and MyLady’s Button Boutique)   State Library Victoria Collection, photographer and date unknown
This is Gog   coflem
and this is Mamog   cofiem
The clock was installed by a well-known Melbourne jeweler and watch maker   Rexness
The inspirational Gog and Magog at Guildhall, London   David Avoura King (Gog) and Alastair Rae (Magog)
The hall dates to 1870, and clock and figures to 1892   Heritage Council Victoria / Victorian Heritage Database
The long hall of the Royal Arcade, with the clock at the far end   Alpha
Gog and Magog March 2019   Kara Davis / Atlas Obscura User
  fransiskawuri / Atlas Obscura User
  fransiskawuri / Atlas Obscura User
photo taken June 2022   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
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About

As you walk through the Royal Arcade in Melbourne's Central Business District (the CBD), if you arrive at the top of the hour you'll hear Gaunt’s Clock alerting you to the time. Follow the chimes and look up and you’ll see two statues flanking the clock dial, imaginings of mythical giants named Gog and Magog.

Since 1892, these two medieval warriors have watched over the southern side of the arcade, striking the chimes with their mechanical arms. Each is about seven feet tall, and carved from pine by a man named Mortimer Godfrey. He modeled the two on similar figures that watch over Guildhall in London, where the same characters have been the guardians of the city since the 15th century.

The mechanical statues stand on either side of Gaunt’s Clock, a feature that was added to the Arcade about 20 years after it was built. Thomas Gaunt, a well-known Melbourne jeweler, watch and clock maker, had a shop in the Royal Arcade, and adding a prominent time piece with a couple of mythical giants could only be good for business.

Although variations of the characters of Gog and Magog appear in many ancient texts, including the Old Testament and the Quran, these two are actually a jumble of several religious stories and pagan myths, more grounded in medieval lore than the Bible. As the display itself will tell you (slightly editing here), “These two … symbolise the conflict between the ancient Britons and the Trojan invaders… having been captured in battle… and made to serve as porters at the gateway of an ancient palace on a site later occupied by the Guildhall.”

So they’re a little bit biblical, a little bit Roman, a little bit pagan, and a little bit medieval. Everything good giants should be.

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Arcades Clocks Mythology

Know Before You Go

The Royal Arcade is in Melbourne, in what's known as the CBD (the Central Business District). The clock and figures are located on the southern entrance to the Arcade, which can be accessed via Bourke Street Mall, or Little Collins Street.

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francesrosey

Edited By

Collector of Experiences, Gavin, Kara Davis, fransiskawuri

  • Collector of Experiences
  • Gavin
  • Kara Davis
  • fransiskawuri

Published

January 19, 2017

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Sources
  • http://royalarcade.com.au/history/
  • http://ausmed.arts.uwa.edu.au/items/show/185
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Arcade,_Melbourne
  • https://lordmayorsshow.london/history/gog-and-magog
  • https://www.smh.com.au/national/if-you-want-the-real-story-please-read-on--20081023-57cy.html
Gog and Magog
150 Elizabeth Street
Melbourne
Australia
-37.814691, 144.963516
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