The picture above , circa 1900, shows the 3 major artefacts that still adorn the highest point on Fort Canning today , namely the lighthouse , the flagstaff and the lesser known time ball(extreme left).
The time ball at Fort Canning consists of a solid metal pole rising 5 to 7 storeys with a large steel ball inserted through it. The steel ball would be dropped at a specific time of the day so that everyone could set their watches and clocks to a common time. Providing accurate time was a public service which the British Colonial government probably felt compelled to offer as Singapore was fast developing into a major port for East-West trade.
The time ball at Fort Canning consists of a solid metal pole rising 5 to 7 storeys with a large steel ball inserted through it. The steel ball would be dropped at a specific time of the day so that everyone could set their watches and clocks to a common time. Providing accurate time was a public service which the British Colonial government probably felt compelled to offer as Singapore was fast developing into a major port for East-West trade.
Such a public service dates back to the time of ancient Rome where sundials and water clocks were built in public areas to provide a common time to regulate societial life and for the purpose of faciliating business and commerce.
There were in fact two time balls in Singapore , one at the top of Mount Faber for use by seamen at Keppel Harbour and the other at Fort Canning for the people living and working in Singapore town.
At 1255pm each day the time ball at Fort Canning would be hoisted and then dropped at exactly 1pm. This allowed for the business people to reset their clocks and watches if neccessary. The world's first time ball was built in Portsmouth England in 1825.
No comments:
Post a Comment