In my first two posts I wrote about the first sundial that I had anything to do with and the first sundial to spark my active interest. In the next two posts I will write about the first sundial I owned and being 'first' in a competition.
My first sundial was purchased 'at auction' from Dalton's Antiques Tauranga whose rooms were over the road from home in the Avenues. Acquiring this sundial seemed as 'meant to be' as it was it's disappearance off the back of a truck leaving it's third locaton on Moffat Road Bethlehem Tauranga.
My Father agreed to the project and between us a suitably aesthetic base design was identified from a loan out of the Alexandre Trunbal Library archive. Concrete was second nature as a construction material to my Dad, as some would say being a typical Kiwi-bloke, and he made a perfect replicata in three parts including leaving his sheep branding mark as the 'maker's mark' and date on the top.
There was no 'marker's mark' on the sundial, just the motto I count the sunny hours only We had no knoweldge of the history gnomon angle
In addtion to taking into account the sundial must be north facing and id is essential for it to be perfectly horisontal.
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the alexander Turnball libraary, in those day had a colection and provide a photocpy as at my request of sundial bases. We chose thisone, it was perfect in all respects to my eye. and my father Frank, a retired southland farmer, appied his skills to amking a mould, pouring concrete in there sections, aplying his branding mark to creat a replica.
[pic]
gnomin and angle and latitude reakoning confimred belonged in Tauranga .
include her some of hte science of
[pic] the sndial was relocated to The Plot at Te Puna
[pic] and finally to Moffat Road. I say finally as it disappeared by casting itself off eh back of a removal trailor when I was leaving the Bay of Plenty as if it had to say there. a look arond the side of Moffat Road the next was fruitless. i do hope some found it and has re-instated it. I this case it is definately 'findes keepers' and if any kows of it being fund love to learn of its new home.
