620:
378:
688:
401:
722:
658:
673:
753:
707:
183:
769:
734:
639:
601:
22:
92:
268:
287:
In March 1864 New
Zealand's first time ball was established at Wellington. This was followed by Port Chalmers in June 1867, Wanganui in October 1874, Lyttelton in December 1876 and Timaru in 1888. Attempts were made by some people in Auckland to establish time balls there from 1864 onwards, but these
344:
that hit the
Lyttelton area on 13 June 2011. In November 2012, a large financial donation was made available to contribute towards rebuilding the tower, a project the community considered. On 25 May 2013, it was announced that the tower and ball would be restored, and that funds were to be sought
134:
Time balls were usually dropped at 1 p.m. (although in the United States they were dropped at noon). They were raised half way about 5 minutes earlier to alert the ships, then with 2–3 minutes to go they were raised the whole way. The time was recorded when the ball began descending, not when it
313:
service initially operated at 1 pm on all days of the week except
Sundays. The service was discontinued in October 1877, but following concerns raised by 11 shipmasters the service resumed in April 1882 as a weekly service. In 1910 the time keeping service was discontinued but the ball however
127:, originally to enable tall ships in the Thames to set their marine chronometers, and the time ball has dropped at 1 p.m. every day since then. Wauchope submitted his scheme to American and French ambassadors when they visited England. The
480:, operated a time ball for Madrid. Nowadays it is only used to mark the imminent start of the bell strikes that mark the New Year at midnight. The main Spanish TV networks broadcast the event, allowing spectators to eat the traditional
368:
Wellington had two time ball sites – the time ball was erected at the first site by mid-January 1864 on top of the Custom House building on the
Wellington waterfront and later relocated in 1888 to the J Shed Woolstore on top of the
1127:
40:
is a time-signalling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators aboard ships offshore to verify the setting of their
1481:. "From 1913 until 1967 a black 'time ball' at the top activated by a telegraphic signal from the National Observatory in Washington DC dropped at noon every day signaling the time to ships in the harbor."
76:
in his book on
Edifices. Time ball stations set their clocks according to transit observations of the positions of the sun and stars. Originally they either had to be stationed at the
1006:
1131:
259:
Clearly seen from the river and aligned on the meridian for observation purposes, Building 20, also known as the Ball House, is the former observatory and time ball tower.
427:, Poland (The time ball was installed in 1876, moved to the Danzig (now Gdańsk) lighthouse in 1894, and removed in 1929. In 2008 it was reconstructed from original plans)
619:
68:
The fall of a little ball was in antiquity a way to show to people the time. Ancient Greek clocks had this system in the main square of a city, as in the city of
1397:
The ball is one of just a few nationally and is the only maritime timepiece on a municipal building. It dates back to 1918 and is the highest in the UK.
1181:
1350:
1410:"Heritage Gateway Listed Buildings Online — Clock Tower and Attached Railings, North Street (north side), Brighton, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex"
1154:
80:, or had to keep a very accurate clock at the station which was set manually to observatory time. Following the introduction of the electric
396:. The earliest record of this was 22 February 1912. They were in use until 1937 when wireless signals took over as the new way to keep time.
830:
1010:
687:
1444:
454:
162:
over the course of the sixty seconds ending at midnight. The spectacle was inspired by an organizer having seen the time ball on the
1101:
706:
768:
1376:
1207:
930:
1409:
1236:
Kinns, Roger (2017). "The Time Light
Signals of New Zealand: Yet Another Way of Communicating Time in the Pre-Wireless Area".
858:
340:, and a decision was made in March 2011 to dismantle the building, a danger to the public, but the tower collapsed during the
314:
continued to be used until 1931 as a warning device. It was removed in 1970 but a replacement was restored to service in 2020.
868:
721:
553:. Added during restoration of the building, the timeball dates from the 1800s but is controlled by a newly-built mechanism.
104:
392:
Instead of replacing the
Wellington time ball after the second site burnt down, time light signals were introduced at the
1468:
752:
1200:
465:). After better timekeeping at sea made it obsolete, it was disabled, but it was reactivated in the late 20th century.
957:
341:
1496:
519:, England. The only maritime timepiece on a municipal building. It dates back to 1918 and is the highest in the UK.
377:
569:
405:
393:
356:
163:
1526:
625:
563:
437:
128:
672:
712:
469:
657:
345:
from the community to rebuild the rest of the station. The station was officially reopened on 2 November 2018.
693:
600:
516:
174:
Over sixty time balls remain standing, though many are no longer operational. Existing time balls include:
542:
504:
337:
200:
116:
25:
884:
733:
606:
528:
510:
333:
325:
280:
217:
194:
638:
400:
139:(in Britain from 1924), time balls gradually became obsolete and many were demolished in the 1920s.
1323:
1271:
355:
The
Wellington time ball service started in March 1864. It received its time information from the
984:
775:
586:
310:
289:
226:
211:
131:
was established in
Washington, D.C., and the first American time ball went into service in 1845.
1297:
525:, East Sussex, England. (originally operated hourly, but was later stopped as it was too noisy)
329:
272:
458:
739:
522:
370:
1506:
1048:
901:
860:
The
Heavens on Earth: Observatories and Astronomy in Nineteenth-Century Science and Culture
799:
779:
236:
230:
8:
1536:
1082:
819:
804:
276:
248:
1052:
1253:
1064:
962:
697:
205:
186:
57:
42:
1384:
1249:
1060:
288:
were not recognized by the authorities until a permanent time ball was mounted on the
1531:
1257:
1068:
864:
825:
302:
155:
151:
934:
182:
1417:
1245:
1056:
629:
159:
120:
1173:
793:
221:
85:
1478:
1146:
578:
473:
142:
A contemporary version of the concept has been used since 31 December 1907 at
21:
1520:
644:
573:
495:
481:
306:
283:
was destroyed by an earthquake in 2011 but was rebuilt and reopened in 2018.
143:
84:
around 1850, time balls could be located at a distance from their source of
814:
582:
147:
1105:
809:
532:
252:
136:
77:
53:
1469:
1913: Titanic Memorial Lighthouse Commemorates Victims of Ocean Tragedy"
678:
648:
550:
381:
J Shed, Wellington Woolstore, showing the Time Ball at its second site
108:
100:
81:
111:. Others followed in the major ports of the United Kingdom (including
759:
610:
536:
441:
124:
112:
73:
69:
46:
1498:
Index to the House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents
663:
424:
743:
462:
267:
91:
28:, London. Installed in 1833, a time ball sits atop the Octagon Room
115:) and around the maritime world. One was installed in 1833 at the
1473:
1445:"Building 'people from across the world will visit' after revamp"
546:
360:
1511:
1351:"La bajada de la bola del Observatorio se escucha por martinete"
1039:
Kinns, Roger (2017). "The Principal Time Balls of New Zealand".
796:, in Hong Kong, where a time ball was operated from 1908 to 1933
359:
which was also communicated to the Lyttelton time ball service.
477:
1421:
498:, England. Operates hourly and has recently been refurbished.
373:. This building and the time ball burnt down on 9 March 1909.
1377:"Hull Guildhall's Time Ball set to rise and fall once again"
45:. Accurate timekeeping is essential to the determination of
52:
Although time balls have since been replaced by electronic
56:, some time balls have remained operational as historical
461:
continues to activate its time ball every day at 13:00 (
1182:"Million dollar donation to rebuild Lyttelton Timeball"
301:
Established by the Otago Provincial Council on top of
863:. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press. p. 164.
1477:, August 24, 2005. Accessed December 21, 2023, via
1420:, Institute of Historic Building Conservation and
1155:"Donor fronts to save Lyttelton Timeball Station"
1128:"Workmen unscathed as Timeball Station collapses"
985:"NYC ball drop goes 'green' on 100th anniversary"
336:. Further severe damage occurred in the February
1518:
931:"The Gdańsk Nowy Port Lighthouse and Time Ball"
279:to ships in the harbour beginning in 1876. The
72:in the post-Alexander era, and as described by
1119:
332:, was operational until it was damaged in the
1501:. U.S. Congress. 1876–1877. pp. 305–308.
135:reached the bottom. With the commencement of
1238:Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
1041:Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
896:
894:
1007:"Lyttelton Timeball Station, Christchurch"
455:Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada
99:The first modern time ball was erected at
1276:Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle
1272:"Wellington (from our own correspondent)"
1152:
1125:
1093:
831:List of objects dropped on New Year's Eve
1402:
958:"'88 Countdown: 3, 2, 1, Leap Second, 0"
956:McFadden, Robert D. (31 December 1987).
955:
925:
923:
891:
399:
376:
266:
181:
90:
20:
1348:
1083:"New Zealand quake: The epicentre town"
1519:
158:is lowered down a pole on the roof of
1503:List of time balls worldwide in 1876.
1235:
1231:
1229:
1099:
1038:
920:
856:
852:
850:
848:
846:
1442:
1153:Greenhill, Marc (28 November 2012).
1034:
1032:
1030:
1028:
977:
154:celebrations; at 11:59 p.m., a
1208:"$ 1m donation to rebuild timeball"
1179:
1102:"Timeball Station to be demolished"
169:
103:, England, in 1829 by its inventor
13:
1342:
1226:
843:
501:Margate Clock Tower, Kent, England
363:used local observatory facilities.
275:, New Zealand, started signalling
14:
1548:
1488:
1349:Atienza, Antonio (30 June 2018).
1250:10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2017.02.06
1061:10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2017.01.05
1025:
488:
324:Established in December 1876 the
1512:Time ball and cannon Association
1126:Greenhill, Marc (14 June 2011).
767:
751:
732:
720:
705:
686:
671:
656:
637:
618:
599:
557:
438:Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
1462:
1436:
1369:
1316:
1290:
1264:
1100:Gates, Charlie (4 March 2010).
1009:. Yahoo! Travel. Archived from
626:United States Naval Observatory
564:United States Naval Observatory
431:
129:United States Naval Observatory
1443:Rugg, Aaliyah (18 June 2023).
1180:Lee, Francesca (25 May 2013).
1075:
999:
949:
877:
727:Clock tower, Margate, Kent, UK
713:Royal House of the Post Office
470:Royal House of the Post Office
404:The Time Light arrangement at
262:
1:
1130:. stuff.co.nz. Archived from
836:
517:Guildhall, Kingston upon Hull
409:
382:
1214:. radionz.co.nz. 25 May 2013
505:Royal Observatory, Greenwich
338:2011 Christchurch earthquake
201:Fremantle, Western Australia
177:
26:Royal Observatory, Greenwich
7:
908:. Greenwich Mean Time. 2019
787:
235:Geelong Telegraph Station,
95:The Boston Time Ball (1881)
10:
1553:
887:. Royal Museums Greenwich.
592:
511:Time Ball Buildings, Leeds
334:2010 Canterbury earthquake
326:Lyttelton Timeball Station
281:Lyttelton Timeball Station
195:The Old Windmill, Brisbane
63:
1507:Time ball/cannon hobbyist
418:
242:
1414:Heritage Gateway website
447:
987:. CNN. 31 December 2007
776:Williamstown Lighthouse
587:Plymouth, Massachusetts
227:Williamstown Lighthouse
212:Newcastle Customs House
88:and operated remotely.
1527:Navigational equipment
415:
388:
330:Lyttelton, New Zealand
284:
190:
164:Western Union Building
96:
29:
16:Time-signalling device
1495:"List of Timeballs".
1383:. BBC. Archived from
1355:Andalucía Información
885:"Greenwich Time Ball"
857:Aubin, David (2010).
523:Clock Tower, Brighton
403:
380:
270:
185:
117:Greenwich Observatory
94:
24:
1416:. Heritage Gateway (
1324:"Ships and Shipping"
800:History of longitude
406:Dominion Observatory
394:Dominion Observatory
357:Dominion Observatory
1089:. 25 February 2011.
1053:2017JAHH...20...69K
937:on 13 February 2012
820:Greenwich Mean Time
805:Shepherd Gate Clock
607:The Nelson Monument
459:San Fernando, Cádiz
277:Greenwich Mean Time
249:Citadelle of Quebec
107:, a captain in the
58:tourist attractions
43:marine chronometers
1387:on 28 January 2019
1330:. 22 February 1912
1134:on 24 October 2012
963:The New York Times
698:Kingston upon Hull
543:Flat Iron Building
416:
389:
285:
206:Sydney Observatory
191:
187:Sydney Observatory
137:radio time signals
97:
30:
1328:New Zealand Times
1278:. 11 January 1864
1212:Radio New Zealand
870:978-0-8223-4640-1
826:Times Square Ball
566:, Washington D.C.
529:Nelson's Monument
371:accumulator tower
309:in June 1867 the
303:Observation Point
271:The time ball at
214:, New South Wales
208:, New South Wales
119:in London by the
1544:
1502:
1482:
1466:
1460:
1459:
1457:
1455:
1440:
1434:
1433:
1431:
1429:
1418:English Heritage
1406:
1400:
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1373:
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1112:
1097:
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1073:
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1036:
1023:
1022:
1020:
1018:
1013:on 10 March 2013
1003:
997:
996:
994:
992:
981:
975:
974:
972:
970:
953:
947:
946:
944:
942:
933:. Archived from
927:
918:
917:
915:
913:
898:
889:
888:
881:
875:
874:
854:
771:
755:
736:
724:
709:
690:
675:
660:
641:
630:Washington, D.C.
622:
603:
570:Titanic Memorial
494:Timeball Tower,
414:
411:
387:
384:
342:major aftershock
292:in August 1901.
170:Around the world
160:One Times Square
121:Astronomer Royal
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1304:. 10 March 1909
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878:
871:
855:
844:
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794:Blackhead Point
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756:
747:
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728:
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716:
715:, Madrid, Spain
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642:
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623:
614:
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491:
450:
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421:
412:
385:
265:
255:no longer true.
245:
222:South Australia
180:
172:
150:as part of its
105:Robert Wauchope
66:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1550:
1540:
1539:
1534:
1529:
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1490:
1489:External links
1487:
1484:
1483:
1479:Newspapers.com
1461:
1449:Liverpool Echo
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1401:
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1244:(2): 211–222.
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489:United Kingdom
487:
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474:Puerta del Sol
466:
449:
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408:in Wellington
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290:Ferry Building
273:Port Lyttelton
264:
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209:
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189:with time ball
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166:in operation.
152:New Year's Eve
65:
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3:
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1299:
1298:"A Big Blaze"
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1188:. stuff.co.nz
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1161:. stuff.co.nz
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645:Deal Timeball
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307:Port Chalmers
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144:New York City
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19:
1497:
1472:
1464:
1452:. Retrieved
1448:
1438:
1426:. Retrieved
1413:
1404:
1396:
1389:. Retrieved
1385:the original
1380:
1371:
1359:. Retrieved
1357:(in Spanish)
1354:
1344:
1332:. Retrieved
1327:
1318:
1306:. Retrieved
1302:The Dominion
1301:
1292:
1280:. Retrieved
1275:
1266:
1241:
1237:
1216:. Retrieved
1211:
1202:
1190:. Retrieved
1185:
1175:
1163:. Retrieved
1158:
1148:
1136:. Retrieved
1132:the original
1121:
1109:. Retrieved
1095:
1086:
1077:
1047:(1): 69–94.
1044:
1040:
1015:. Retrieved
1011:the original
1001:
989:. Retrieved
979:
967:. Retrieved
961:
951:
939:. Retrieved
935:the original
910:. Retrieved
905:
879:
859:
815:Weather ball
583:Gurnet Point
432:South Africa
286:
258:
197:, Queensland
173:
148:Times Square
141:
133:
98:
67:
54:time signals
51:
37:
33:
31:
18:
1361:11 November
1334:19 December
1308:19 December
1282:20 December
1165:28 November
1106:stuff.co.nz
991:31 December
912:12 December
902:"Time ball"
810:Time signal
782:, Australia
774:Time ball,
758:Time ball,
740:Clock tower
533:Calton Hill
413: 1913
386: 1900
263:New Zealand
253:Quebec City
78:observatory
1537:Time balls
1521:Categories
1391:19 October
837:References
679:Gothenburg
551:Merseyside
539:, Scotland
496:Deal, Kent
350:Wellington
109:Royal Navy
101:Portsmouth
1258:217198680
1069:209901718
969:2 January
941:4 January
760:Cape Town
694:Guildhall
611:Edinburgh
537:Edinburgh
513:, England
507:, England
442:Cape Town
319:Lyttelton
311:time ball
218:Semaphore
178:Australia
125:John Pond
113:Liverpool
86:mean time
82:telegraph
74:Procopius
47:longitude
34:time ball
1532:Horology
1381:BBC News
1087:BBC News
788:See also
780:Victoria
744:Brighton
681:, Sweden
666:, Poland
463:ROA Time
237:Victoria
231:Victoria
156:lit ball
49:at sea.
38:timeball
1474:Newsday
1454:20 June
1424:). 2006
1138:15 June
1111:15 June
1049:Bibcode
593:Gallery
547:Prescot
361:Dunedin
64:History
1428:2 June
1256:
1218:25 May
1192:25 May
1067:
1017:27 May
867:
664:Gdańsk
478:Madrid
425:Gdańsk
419:Poland
243:Canada
1254:S2CID
1186:Stuff
1159:Stuff
1065:S2CID
822:(GMT)
448:Spain
1456:2023
1430:2010
1393:2018
1363:2020
1336:2018
1310:2018
1284:2018
1220:2013
1194:2013
1167:2012
1140:2011
1113:2011
1019:2007
993:2007
971:2009
943:2009
914:2019
865:ISBN
746:, UK
700:, UK
651:, UK
649:Deal
632:, US
613:, UK
468:The
453:The
70:Gaza
1246:doi
1057:doi
545:in
531:on
472:in
457:in
328:in
305:in
146:'s
36:or
1523::
1471:,
1447:.
1412:.
1395:.
1379:.
1353:.
1326:.
1300:.
1274:.
1252:.
1242:20
1240:.
1228:^
1210:.
1184:.
1157:.
1104:.
1085:.
1063:.
1055:.
1045:20
1043:.
1027:^
960:.
922:^
904:.
893:^
845:^
778:,
742:,
696:,
647:,
628:,
609:,
585:,
581:,
572:,
549:,
535:,
476:,
440:,
410:c.
383:c.
251:,
229:,
220:,
123:,
60:.
32:A
1458:.
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1365:.
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1248::
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1196:.
1169:.
1142:.
1115:.
1071:.
1059::
1051::
1021:.
995:.
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916:.
873:.
484:.
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