What is a Timeball?
Timeballs are a now obsolete maritime time keeping device. The dropping of the ball at a predetermined Greenwich Time enabled sailors on offshore ships to check the accuracy and/or synchronise their ships chronometer. Without an accurate chronometer mariners could never be sure how far east or west they were whenever they were out of sight of land. A chronometer let sailors compare Greenwich Time (as shown on the chronometer) with local time (calculated by observations of the sun). The difference between the two could be used to calculate their longitude position in the ocean. An error in time of four seconds calculates out to an error in distance at the equator of 1,800m! Accurate chronometers were obviously very important so they had to be checked regularly – and this is where Timeball stations were important. The majority of Timeballs around the world were dropped at 1pm (the exception being the U.S.A.). They were raised to half way at around 12.55pm to alert ships, then with 2 -3 minutes to go they were raised the whole way to the top, and the time (1pm) was noted when the ball began to descend (not when it reached the bottom). Small errors in a ships chronometer could thus be accounted for. Timeball stations were set and calibrated according to transit times and positions of the sun and stars so they were often located at an observatory or, as in Lyttelton’s case, they had to contain a very accurate astronomical clock which could be manually set. Lyttelton’s Timeball clock was set/calibrated with observations from the Colonial Observatory in Wellington through communication with the local post office.
Lyttelton Timeball – a brief history
Lyttelton’s Timeball station was the third to be constructed in New Zealand (behind Wellington and Dunedin) and was designed by local architect Thomas Cane. It was constructed from local scoria and Oamaru stone. Construction was completed in 1876 and it began operation on the 23rd December 1876. Originally it comprised of an octagonal tower supporting the timeball and a three story building containing accommodation, work rooms and the time piece. Additions and alterations were made in 1877, 1878 and again in 1912. The astronomical clock came from the English company Edward Dent & Co. (who made the mechanism for London’s Big Ben) and the 100kg timeball and apparatus came from the Siemens Brothers of Germany. The timeball mechanism was 15 meters high and the ball was dropped every day at 1pm. By 1918, when exact time was increasingly being supplied by radio, the ball was dropped only twice a week at 3.30pm. In 1934 it dropped for the last time as a working piece of maritime equipment as it was now fully superseded by radio signals. Part of the Timeball station was turned into a museum, and the ball continued to be dropped as a tradition.
As a stunning example of Victorian architecture and technology it gained heritage status in 1983 (Building 43 in the register) and at this time it was the only surviving Timeball Station in New Zealand, one of only 60 still standing in the world and one of only 5 around the world that still worked.
Destroyed - Time’s up
Unfortunately the Timeball Station was damaged and stopped working in the September 2010 earthquake (7.1), suffered further damage in the February earthquake (6.3) and before it could be dismantled for public safety it fully collapsed on the 13th June 2011 after a 6.4 magnitude aftershock. The remains were 3D modelled, deconstructed and all the stones meticulously numbered and stored (so they could, on a rebuild, be placed in the same position where possible); and what remained of the Timeball mechanism salvaged. With its destruction the Timeball Station also lost its heritage status.
…Or is it? - from the rubble rises
After much debate it was announced in May 2013 that whilst construction of the whole station was not currently possible the tower and ball could and would be restored in the same style and with the same stone masonry techniques. The tower was also built with the foresight of possible future community fundraising allowing the restoration/rebuilding of the rest of the station at a later date. The tower, complete with mast and a newly painted zinc ball, were rebuilt between July 2017 and November 2018 at a cost of $3M with the building being officially reopened with much fanfare on the 2nd November 2018. In the end the Timeball mechanism could not be restored, it is now timed electronically and operates pneumatically and can once again be seen across Lyttelton to drop at precisely 1pm every day. Whilst visiting the site you can also see the original buildings brick and concrete foundations.
To claim this Virtual cache you must visit GZ and show proof of your visit by:
1) Take a photo and upload it to your ‘Found it’ log which clearly shows either yourself, your GPS or something obviously geocaching related (if you use your phone not a GPS) with all or part of the Timeball tower in the background.
2) Send me by email or message (Do not put these answers in your log):
(i) what is at your feet as you reach the top of the stairs (at GZ)
(ii) a few meters NE of GZ are two signboards. What is the first sentence of #8?
You can go ahead & log your find, but I will advise you if your answer is incorrect, & delete your log if a correct answer isn’t or cannot be provided. Armchair logging will also be deleted.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
References.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyttelton_Timeball_Station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_ball https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/lyttelton-timeball-station
https://www.heritage.org.nz/places/places-to-visit/canterbury-region/lyttelton-timeball
http://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/lytteltons-timeball-station-began-operation-23rd-december-1876/