After a five year wait, work is finally underway in Lyttelton to painstakingly rebuild a rare working Timeball Station.
The historic maritime landmark, and one of the few left in the world, was badly damaged in the February 2011 earthquake and completely destroyed in the June aftershock.
The Scottish-like castle was built in 1876. It was used to signal the time to ships in Lyttelton Harbour, necessary to correct ship instruments for accurate navigation.
"Our timeball is one of only two that were purpose-built in the world. So that was very rare and quite special," Timeball Station manager Jan Titus says.
"When you come out of the Lyttleton tunnel and look up, you always look for the timeball in the skyline. It's just one of those things that's missing."
An early morning Maori blessing marked the beginning of the station's rebuild on Wednesday.
The rebuild, which will cost more than $2 million, will be on the original site using original materials salvaged from the ruin. Most of the build is being funded by donations from the Lyttleton community, as well as a large donation from an overseas mystery donor.
Heritage Destinations general manager Nick Chin says the aim is to make it as authentic as possible.
"There's a lot of interest in ensuring that when the locals see the building it's familiar and looks like it has always looked."
The station is set to return to the Lyttelton skyline by May next year.
Newshub.
