Missing clock was plucked from a truck headed to the tip in 1975

On December 23, 1975, Peter Castrission and his mate Ron watched aghast as the famous neon clock from Gundagai's iconic Niagara Café was tossed onto the back of a truck destined for the local tip. They thought they'd never see it again.

Thirty-seven years earlier, Niagara owners, the Castrission family, including Peter's dad Jack and his brother Vic commissioned an architect to redesign the interior and exterior of the café, which on completion was recognised as the best café in NSW and in the top five in Australia.

"Part of the exterior restoration included a prominent neon-lit clock that was mounted in the centre of the café awning," Peter explains.

Although just 60cm in diameter, the clock stood proudly in place until the late 1960s. It was a pseudo town hall clock. Folk in town co