South Australia

The Adelaide Noonday Gun

The following is taken from:   The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 – 1929) Fri 21 Oct 1921 Page 6

The residents of Lobethal made use of this time keeping initiative.

THE TWELVE O’CLOCK GUN.

The origin of the midday gun, which stood the test of service for many years on North terrace, is interesting. On July 3, 1855, the Colonial Secretary (Mr. B. T. Finniss) sent the following letter to the then Harbourmaster at Port Adelaide (Mr. A. Searcy): — I have the honour to convey to you the Governor’s instructions to forward to the Commissioner of Police for service as a noonday signal gun, one of the carronades now mounted at the coal shed at Port Adelaide. A correspondent; writes:— ‘I was born at Mount Barker, and went to school at Little Hampton. The master, Mr. (afterwards the Rev.) H. Howitt, used to take us out of school just before midday, and if the weather was favourable we could hear the echo of the noonday gun fired in Adelaide.’ The gun which stood on the parklands opposite the old military barracks— its locality was about where the Egyptian column now stands in front of ‘the Museum on North terrace — was regularly fired until perhaps 25 years ago, an officer and a gunner, attending to the duty each day.

Midday Gun

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