TIME BALL
HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE IN WILLIAMSTOWN
The Time Ball was built between 1839 and 1840 and sits in the Point Gellibrand Coastal Historical Park. It is 17 M high and the second largest lighthouse in Victoria. From 1858 the until 1926 the time ball dropped every day at 1.00 PM. In 1932 it was adapted to be used as a lighthouse by the addition of 98 feet and a circular tower 30 M high. It operated as a lighthouse until 1987 and in 1989 the circular tower was removed and restored to its original square shape and the time ball apparatus installed again. It is now a relic of the past and sits in a fairly unattractive stretch of ground on Point Gellibrand.
A good place to say in Williamstown is the
which is just down Nelson Place at the Gem Pier.
Photo Courtesy 'The Age
Just off shore and the same vintage as the Time Ball was the Gellibrand Reef Lighthouse.
As a young kid it was a favorite place to sail to and around. It 1976 it was his by a ship in fog (ships are not supposed to hit lighthouses) so the authorities saw it as a danger and set fire to it. An icon lost.
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