Lyttelton Timeball Station: History

History
The timeball & its mechanism
Timeball keepers and flag signalmen

The safety of a ship and its crew depends upon having an accurate knowledge of their position on the ocean.

Latitude (angular distance north or south from the equator) had been easily assessed for centuries by using an astrolabe, or later, a sextant. Longitude could not be accurately calculated until John Harrison invented the chronometer during the eighteenth century. The chronometer permitted ships' navigators to have an accurate reading of Greenwich time no matter where they were in the world, unaffected by ship movements, moisture, or changes in temperature. However, chronometers could accumulate errors of seconds over long voyages, and these inaccuracies could lead to significant miscalculations of distance, thus it was essential to check the accuracy of the chronometer whenever possible.

Visual signals were important features of any port, necessary for communication between ship and shore in pre-radio times. Timeball stations became an important part of many ports during the nineteenth century. Timeballs drop at a known Greenwich time. The first was dropped in Portsmouth, England in 1829.

The first timeball built in New Zealand was in Wellington in 1864, followed by one in Dunedin in 1868. Lyttelton's was the third, and daily from 1876-1934, the dropping of the Lyttelton timeball signalled Greenwich time to shipping in the harbour.

During the 1870s, Lyttelton had become a bustling port due to the economic boom Canterbury was experiencing at the time. The construction of a railway tunnel between Lyttelton and Christchurch made it easier for an increasing number of ships to collect grain and wool for export. Many improvements were made at the port, of which the timeball was one.

Interior of the Timeball Station. Image: NZHPT

The erection of a timeball and its tower was first proposed to the Canterbury Provincial Council in 1870, by local business man and farmer, J T Peacock. The Council adopted the proposal, and three years later the timeball, its machinery and an astronomical clock were ordered from England. Siemens Brothers supplied the timeball and its apparatus, and the clock was provided by Edward Dent & Co in London.

Half a hectare of land near the existing flagstaff on a spur above Officers Point was granted to the Provincial Council. From here, signals could be seen from the inner and outer harbour and the Heads. The site was cleared by prisoners from Lyttelton Gaol.

The castle-like building housing the timeball was designed by Thomas Cane, the Canterbury Provincial Architect. It is built of local scoria, with surrounds and quoins of Oamaru stone. Originally, the building consisted of the octagonal tower that housed the timeball, and a three storey adjoining building containing three residential rooms and two working rooms (clock room and lookout room). The building and tower have Gothic Revival features seen to be appropriate for public buildings at the time but it is not clear why a castle design was chosen.

Problems with water seepage into the building dogged the Timeball Station from its opening. The original casement windows leaked, and the local scoria proved to be too porous for the weather conditions. The resulting dampness was making the building uncomfortable to live and work in, and if ignore, would eventually destroy the mortar.

Exterior Image: NZHPT

After the Lyttelton Harbour Board took over the station's management in 1877, it asked Frederick Strouts, a noted local architect to suggest means of making the building watertight and to design a further addition to the building (the kitchen wing). Strouts suggested sealing the outer walls. Silicate was unsuccessfully tried. He then suggested concreting but this was objected to on the grounds that it would spoil the aesthetics of the building and the stonework would suffer. Strouts suggested roughcasting the building except for the quoins and surrounds. After experimentation on the tower, the stuccoing was applied to the rest of the building in 1880.

The Timeball Station was further extended in 1912 to provide better accommodation for the signalman at the time, John Porteous and his family. This was a two-story extension built over the kitchen and front door to create bathroom, bedroom and entrance hall on the ground floor and two further bedrooms upstairs. It was built in brick and stuccoed to match the rest of the building.

After the dropping of the timeball and flag signalling ceased due to the increasing reliance on radio communications, the Lyttelton Timeball Station was occupied by the New Zealand Army in 1942 -43. It was then inhabited by various staff members (and their families) of the Lyttelton Harbour Board until 1969 when the Harbour Board began to question its continued ownership of the station. The Lyttelton Maritime Association was formed from a public meeting of all those interested in the continued preservation of the building. The Maritime Association leased the Timeball Station from the Harbour Board, and began to restore it.

By 1973, it became obvious that the task of maintaining and restoring the property was too great for a volunteer organisation and it was agreed that it would be gifted to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

The Ministry of Works and Development took over the restoration of the station, the timeball and its mechanism in 1975, working with the Historic Places Trust. The restoration project was completed by the end of 1978 when the Timeball Station was officially reopened. The practice of dropping the timeball at 1 p.m. every day has been revived recently.

The Timeball and its mechanism

The timeball mechanism. Image: NZHPT

The timeball mechanism is 15 metres high. The timeball itself is a hollow sphere made from a wooden frame covered with thin sheets of painted zinc. It is 1.5 metres in width and weighs over 100 kilograms. An Oregon pine mast is threaded through a hole in the centre. The ball is hoisted by means of a hand wheel to the top of the mast where it rests on a catch. The release of the catch is controlled by an electromagnet, which is in turn operated by an electric current controlled by the astronomical clock. At a predetermined time, the circuit for the current is completed working a number of levers resulting in the release of the catch holding the timeball. The speed of the fall is controlled by a piston. Navigators take their readings at the instant the timeball leaves the top of the mast.

The timeball itself. Image: Sheena Haywood

Originally, the Lyttelton timeball dropped at 1 p.m. each day. The first drop occurred three minutes late on 29 November 1876 - this was due to problems with the electromagnet. It was not dropped again until 23 December 1876, after which it was dropped reliably every day except in high winds.

In 1916, the original astronomical clock was lent to the Observatory in Wellington. From then on, the timeball would be released by a telegraph signal directly from the Observatory in Wellington. The timeball was then dropped just twice a week due to economic difficulties and by the end of the World War I, the time of the signal was changed to 3.30 p.m. The reason for the change in time is unclear.

Over the years, shipping increasingly came to rely on radio communications for the correct time, and in 1934, the Lyttelton Harbour Board decided that timeball signals should be discontinued. Lyttelton's timeball fell for the last time (for its original purpose) on 31 December 1934. The existing timeball keeper remained as flag signalman until this position ceased in 1941.

Timeball Keepers

The timeball keeper and his family usually lived at the station, in what were initially cramped conditions before later additions and alterations provided better residential accommodation.

The kauri flagpole standing in front of the Timeball Station dates from 1891. Image: NZHPT

Prior to the Timeball Station's construction, a flag signalman was responsible for signalling to ships in the harbour, directing their movements, and for communicating shipping advice to the town. A permanent flag signalman was stationed at the Timeball Station from 1879.

Alexander Joyce was the first timeball keeper appointed at Lyttelton. He and his family moved into the Station in mid 1877, and remained until 1881. After the Joyces left, John Toomey occupied the station as flag signalman. He married in 1887 and he and his wife lived at the Timeball Station until his transfer to Adderley Head in 1891.

Albert Button, signalman next lived here until he was replaced in 1905 by John Porteous. Porteous was flag signalman from 1905-1932 and the timeball keeper from 1914-1932.

Today, the flags and flagpole are used mostly for educational purposes for school groups and other visitors, and on special occasions, a welcome signal or other special messages are flown.

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