Timeball Station

LYTTELTON

Client:
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Date of Project: 2018 & 2020
(stage 2 pending install 2021)
Graphic Design: Goanna Design

Objective: 
Take visitors to the Timeball Station on a journey to different interpretive nodes on site that clearly depict its maritime history and important links to the port of Lyttelton. Re-create the scene for visitors in response to the destruction of much of the site and Timeball building during the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Reveal what used to exist on-site using visuals keyed into the remaining foundations. Showcase the stories of what it was like to live and work in the ‘castle on the hill.’ Identify māori presence in the landscape through a series of panoramas depicting māori place names and cultural stories at key points around the Lyttelton harbour.

Process:
Telltale created an interpretation concept that provided guidance for the renewed on-site interpretation based on key historic points of interest. Eg. the signalman’s view, the flag pole, the re-constructed Timeball tower, and the foundations of the original adjoined accommodation for staff at the Timeball Station. Orientation signage, a telescope, a signalman’s desk, two outdoor books, flag code interpretation, and a dog sculpture with the accompanying story are all part of the mix, creating a variety of informative layers for visitors.

Production:
Corten steel plinths are used with angled panels to the views of the object or place being interpreted. A signalman’s desk made of corten is sighted where the old signalmen’s hut used to sit and includes the story of the role of the signalmen and profiles all those who worked from here using a waterproof large book attached to the table. Historic imagery and commissioned artistic illustrations are used throughout the site to reveal what the Timeball looked like through the eras and the earthquake narrative is shared at the foundation’s site. The graphic design picks up on maritime themes, using cut off angles on panel shapes, angular lines, flag shapes, and coastal colours to reflect the subject matter.