A place that I've missed on all my visits to Christchurch will soon disappear - the Lyttelton Timeball Station, one of only six functional time ball stations left worldwide.
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| Lyttelton Timeball Station [Date unknown] |
The station operated from 1876 to 1934, with the time ball dropping to give sailors a visual indication of the time, allowing for accurate navigation. The time ball was imported from Siemens (still a well known company today), and the clock from Edward Dent and Co of London, who also made the clock on the Big Ben.
I trust the Historic Places Trust to dismantle the building as respectfully as possible in the circumstances, and hope enough of the material (in particular the time ball mechanism) may be preserved for it to be rebuilt in the future. That may be some time given the funds required to make the area functional in the first instance...
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| Lyttelton Timeball Station - March 2011 |
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