HKO - Under the Same Sky 130 Years - Display Area 3: Exhibit 6
Display Area 3 : Evolution of the Observatory before WWII - Guardian of the Ocean
Exhibit 6
Miniature of a second generation time ball tower operated at Signal Hill in Tsim Sha Tsui from 1908 to 1933. Next to it is a signal mast for display of the tropical cyclone warning in the early days. In 1933, the use of a time-ball for time reporting became obsolete as time signals by radio had already become popular.
The scale for time ball tower and signal mast is 1:200; others are 1:500
Video : Timeball
Miniature of a second-generation time ball tower, every day about 12:50pm, the time ball atop the tower was raised to the top of the pole and was dropped at exactly 1p.m., symbolising a time signal.
* Cantonese Narration Only