IT WAS ALL A MATTER OF TIME

Lake County Mail, Issue 13, 20 August 1947, Page 4

IT WAS ALL A MATTER OF TIME

From the Files of the Lake Wakatip Mail, 1867. Owing to the absence of telegraphic communication in the early days, it appears that guesswork was resorted to more or less in respect of standard time in Queenstown. It would appear that the hours of work on at least six days of the week were determined by the amount of daylight offering. According to the file of the Lake Wakatip Mail, it was not until the late sixties that any move was made to provide the long felt-want till late in June, 1867. Lowther Broad, Esq., R.M., on taking his seat on the Queenstown Bench, found that several parties in cases were not in attendance. Ultimately, on inquiry, it was found that the various watches differed, and no solution of the trouble—whether it was eleven o’clock or not—could be arrived at. His Worship suggested that a time ball in connection with the telegraph might be cheaply erected. Shortly after this the town council was advised that the sum of £4OO would be available for expenditure for the year ended July 31, and it was decided to earmark a portion of this for the erection of a time ball and clock. In the month of September, a paragraph appeared in the Mail to this effect: “ There is now something like uniformity of time kept in Queenstown. Ihe large clock in the telegraph office exhibits Wellington Mean Time, and the various time pieces are regulated by that true time. “ Queenstown,” it was stated, “is about 24 minutes behind Wellington.” At a subsequent date the town council empowered Cr Hallenstein. when he visited Dunedin or Victoria, to purchase a public clock which would strike the hours. The clock was Ihin in diameter and the price £8 10s.