LIKE a loyal soldier diligently performing his duty, Camperdown's clocktower has ticked its way through two world wars and a world of change.But behind its ornate brickwork and Gothic facade lies an 111-year-old mystery.For more than a century, conjecture has clouded the identity of the clockmaker responsible for the iconic local landmark.Camperdown municipal officials and historians have thought for years the clock was made in England for Melbourne clock company T. Gaunt & Co. The city clockmaker's name is engraved on a brass plate mounted on the movement's cast iron A-frame.But the clock was not English-made - a fact Warrnambool man Ron Ziegeler has tried to make known for many years.On repeated occasions, Mr Ziegeler told Corangamite Shire that his grandfather Johann Friedrich Wilhelm `Fritz' Ziegeler made the clock on behalf of T. Gaunt & Co, in his workshop on Little Collins Street, Melbourne.Each time, however, his assertion fell on deaf ears.``It was very frustrating,'' Mr Ziegeler said.``They had their story and did not want to change it.''It was reasonable that his grandfather should have made the clock. After all, he manufactured - under his own name - the Flinders Street Station and Hobart Post Office clocks.When The Standard visited Mr Ziegeler this week he had laid a card table in his lounge with various family artefacts. It wasn't the most comprehensive collection.``My sister had a lot more photos and newspapers but when she died they were all thrown out,'' he said.But the few sepia-tone photographs did show his grandfather working in his workshop and installing large turret clocks. No doubt his ancestor knew what he was doing when it came to clock building, but did he make Camperdown's?On asking the question, Mr Ziegeler shuffled his way through some papers on the table. Finally he presented a fragile yellowed piece of paper with copperplate script on it. It was a letter addressed to his grandfather from Charlie McCabe, a jeweller and watchmaker who worked in Camperdown at the time the clocktower was built.He was also the brother of the man who designed the 31-metre tower, Michael O'Connor McCabe.Dated March 28, 1909, it reads: ``Mr F. Ziegeler, the turret clock which you have built for Camperdown has given every satisfaction. ``I have been winding and attending to it for 12 years and am therefore in a position to compliment you on the admirable manner it has been made and the general satisfaction it has given.The letter seemed authentic but was it proof Fritz Ziegeler made the clock in the red brick tower in Camperdown's Manifold Street? Architectural historian Alan Willingham, who prepared a heritage study for the Town of Camperdown 12 years ago, thought so. ``I say it's testimonial,'' he said.After The Standard contacted him, Mr Willingham prepared a five-page report about Mr Ziegeler's grandfather. His study is based on public records from the State Library of Victoria and proves that Mr Ziegeler's claim is correct.Old advertisements revealed the German immigrant could make clock parts, and clippings from The Age and The Australasian said he made the ``clock at Camperdown''.The evidence has disproved British Horological Institute member G. J. Robinson's claim - made in the 1985 Historic Buildings Council report - that the clock was British-made.``From the primary historical sources it is clear that Fritz Ziegeler was responsible for the manufacture of the large flat bed turret clock installed in the Camperdown clocktower in March 1897,'' Mr Willingham said.``It is also clear from contemporary records that Ziegeler must have been working to the order of Thomas Gaunt and Co.''Mr Ziegeler said his grandfather was responsible for many Gaunt-branded clocks, including Gog and Magog in Melbourne's Royal Arcade and the original Koroit Post Office clock.``I don't want a big fuss, all I want is my grandfather to be recognised for his work.''And he will get his wish. Corangamite Shire acting infrastructure and development director Trev Greenberger said this week the council would officially acknowledge Fritz Ziegeler as the maker of Camperdown's clocktower movement.``It is one of these things which is nice to clear up. We want to make sure we get our facts right,'' he said.The unique tower, which stands in the middle of Camperdown's CBD, was built in memory of Thomas Peter Manifold, who was killed in a riding accident.On the first Sunday of the month people can climb the building's stairs and see Fritz Ziegeler's genius firsthand.