The Timeball Tower on an Overcast South Island Day

The 2010 & 2011 earthquakes all but destroyed Lyttelton Timeball Tower that was completed in 1876. In November 2018 a reconstructed Tower was operational again built from some of the original stones. Alas the beautiful additional buildings were not able to be rebuilt. One of only a few Timeballs around the world it is fascinating to watch in action at precisely 13:00 hours local time.

"The earthquakes and the consequent essential deconstruction of the remains of the station reduced this fantastic and internationally significant maritime site to rubble. While the dust settled, workers numbered the tower’s stones and stored them in crates, and plans were devised to fund and re-erect the tower. A full rebuild of the complete Timeball Station was simply not possible, but with so much of the building’s fabric retrieved, recorded and stored, we were able to rebuild the tower, let the timeball rise again, and put back the flagpole. The plan was ambitious and unique – a heritage building like this has never been rebuilt in New Zealand. 
The tower was reconstructed in the style of the original stonemasonry, complete with a newly coated zinc timeball painted in its original colours.  The timeball itself drops at 1pm each day."