OLD-WORLD SUNDIALS AND THEIR CHARM

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 224, 10 December 1927, Page 26 (Supplement)

OLD-WORLD SUNDIALS AND THEIR CHARM

AMcklamd Possesses a Number of These Qimamt Garden 5 5 Clocks= o c Their Constraction is a Simple Matter „ « .

(Written for THE SUN by VI NCEST A. RYDER, F.Z.S.)

IyjOWN CLOCKS were j /■' ~7;A ] rare in the early days °f ± s ’ ew Zealand, and the time of the day (jjfcUfcfS&i was usually obtained ‘ ~- 8 ’ from the old grandfather clock brought out by early colonists, or from the nearest local watchmaker.

But tucked away in quiet gardens of an Old World type there may still be seen examples of the quaint but reliable sundials, fashioned and set up by artistic residents of New Zealand, who engraved upon the stone some appropriate text, to be read by many generations to come. The general opinion regarding sundials is that they are merely ornamental toys, but in England for centuries past they have been used for no other purpose than that of giving the time to inhabitants in the countryside, and very few old-established estates are without a quaintly-wrought sundial. For people living in the country, and for others who do not have frequent opportunities for obtaining standard time, a sundial affords a ready means whereby clocks may be regulated, for with a dial of 10 to 15 inches in diameter, carefully made and placed, time can be determined with an error less than one minute.

In addition to the ordinary horizontal or vertical sundials, there are a great many other varieties possible, several of which may be classed as freaks.

There are dials marked on the outside and inside of cylinders, hemispheres or of cones; those of which a reflected spot of light serves as a pointer; cannon dials arranged to fire a cannon at noon; portable dials; multiple dials with a dozen or more faces all supported by one standard; inclined dials and dials in shape and size of a finger ring and so on. Before the days of cheap watches, the art of “dialing” was taught in the schools, and eminent men of science vied in designing new varieties.

■•‘The open hook" sundial on Sir Frank Crisp's estate at Friar Park, England.

There are authentic records of care-fully-constructed sundials having been in use more than 2,000 years ago, and

. sundial made and erected by the late idward Haydock, of Auckland, at his esidence, Landscape Road, Mount Eden.

it is likely that crude forms were used more than a thousand years earlier. In England and America, these interesting and valuable Old World associations are quite common, but in New Zealand they are rare, though splendid examples may be seen in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The late Mr. Edward Haydock, of Auckland, A.M.I.Mech.E., F.I.P.A. (N.Z.), well known as a consulting engineer, who supervised the erection and maintenance of several of the most important public clocks of the North Island, was highly interested in the hobby of manufacturing and erection of sundials, and scattered about the Dominion are quaint examples of his art.

Exquisite specimens are to be seen in many of the stately homes of England, notable among these being the

“Open Book” sundial of Sir Frank Crisp, of Friar Park, fashioned out of a block of marble in the form of a book with open leaves, which throw the shadows. Beautiful dials stand in the estates of the Duchess of Albany, Claremont, Surrey; Viscount French, Manor House, Waltham Cross; and the Earl of Onslow, Surrey.

When correctly made, the sundial reads the time to within one minute, but the latitude and longitude of its location must be ascertained before it is erected. This can be obtained from the Government Astronomer; the Lands Office, or other Government department; or it can be read from any reliable survey map. The simplest and easiest dial to construct is of wood, square in outline, having a diameter of 10 inches. The hour marks are painted or outlined with small nails, and the 12

Time flies you say. No, ’tis we fly, Time stays.

A witty example

Make time, save time While time lasts, All time is no time,

When time is past.

An Auckland sundial.

o’clock mark is placed in the centre of one side. The hours may be marked one to six, to the right of the 12, and from 11 to six on the left of the 12, in equally divided sections. The half-hours and quarter-hours may be equally divided between the sections, and the minutes obtained by the same method of division.

A square piece of bar-brass or metal of sufficient length to cast a shadow over the figures must he set on the dial, and must be placed at right angles to the face of the dial. Great care must he made in setting the bar directly opposite the 12 o’clock mark. The bar or “stile,” as it is called, must point due north and south, and the square of wood must be set horizontally.

When the sun is up, compare the dial reading with a good clock set at standard time, and move the dial until they agree. When this is done, and the dial plate is level, it may be permanently fixed. All well-designed sundials should have a motto of one kind or another, and the builder thus has the chance to give a lasting expression of goodwill to other generations. Many apt quotations can be seen engraved upon the surface of sundials.

In Landscape Road, Three Kings, Auckland, the following inscription is engraved in a marble dial: “What r say unto you I say unto all. Watch for ye know not the hour.” Other quotations on well-known sundials are: “Let others tell of storms and showers. I’ll only count your sunny hours.” A more serious one may be quoted: “I am a shadow, so art thou. I mark the time —dost thou?” Another reads;

In an Italian garden, there stands a marble dial which has withstood the ravages of storms for over four centuries. It has been the object of interest for thousands of visitors, on account of the cryptic message deeply engraved upon its stone: "It is later than you think.”

There is no better way to commemorate an important event than to fix

upon a memorial, a well-designed sundial.

Too often, dull and ponderous monuments are erected, and citizens pass by with scant knowledge of the wording on the stone, but if a sundial were attached to the monument or stonework, they would stop to see the time. The sundial would be a mute reminder of the event that is gone but not forgotten, more especially if a mottc were engraved above: “Mark well the time.”