The Time Ball has finally been restored and launched a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to the Waterfront management for investing in this important piece of heritage preservation.
Invented in 1829 by British navy officer, Robert Wauchope, this is considered to be one of the most important inventions in maritime history. Chronometers needed re-calibrating to measure longitude accurately and the Time Ball let navigators know the exact time of day.
In order to inform navigators in the port when it is noon, the ball is raised to the top at 11.55am. Precisely at noon, the ball starts to fall, and the navigators know it is noon as soon as they see the ball dropping.
The first time ball was erected in Observatory in the mid-19th century, but with the development of Cape Town, the navigators could no longer see the time ball. It was moved to Signal Hill, and then to its current location on the Waterfront in 1894. The Time ball ceased to be in use from 1934, with the introduction of radio time signals.
We are waiting for news as to how often the time ball will drop of the public and I will update this post accordingly.