Auckland Station ChimesFull site

Mt Albert

Ōwairaka

Bowed glass, then a tap.

  • E-WO-W
  • West family
  • Guitar signature

Why Mt Albert sounds like this

Two wine glasses are bowed until they sing, then one is tapped, higher again. Ōwairaka is usually said to be named for Wairaka, who stamped her foot and raised a spring that still runs at Unitec. And from 1908 until 1999 Mt Albert sat in one of the country's last dry districts, so the tap is the toast it waited ninety years to make.

Inside the chime

Mt Albert's chime runs about 4 seconds, in two parts. Every station's chime ends on its family's signature, so you can tell roughly where you are by ear.

  1. 1

    Mt Albert's own motif 3.0 s

    Bowed glass, then a tap. No other station plays it.

  2. 2

    The West family's guitar 1.0 s

    Three plucked guitar notes climbing a major chord. It covers the western suburbs.

On the network

MorningsideBaldwin AvenueMt AlbertYou are hereAvondaleNew Lynn

The West family

13 stations end on the guitar: Kingsland out to Swanson.