9 O'Clock Gun
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The 9 O'Clock Gun is a cannon located in Vancouver, British Columbia that is shot every night at 9 p.m.. The crests of King George III and Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, Master-General of the Ordnance at the time the cannon was cast, are on the barrel.
The cannon was cast in Woolwich, England in 1816. 78 years later, in about 1894, it was brought to Stanley Park by the Department of Marine and Fisheries to warn fishermen of the 6:00 p.m. Sunday closing of fishing. On October, 15 1898 the gun was fired for the first time in Stanley Park at noon.
The 9:00 p.m. firing was later established as a time signal for the general population and to allow the chronomerters of ships in port to be accurately set. The Brockton Point lighthouse keeper, William D. Jones, originally detonated a stick of dynamite over the water until the cannon was installed. The cannon eventually had an electronic trigger installed and is now activated from the harbor master's perch ontop of a building near Canada Place.
The 9 O'Clock Gun was silent for two periods in history: once, during World War II, and again in 1969 when it was stolen and held by University of British Columbia Engineering students until a "ransom" was donated to British Columbia Children's Hospital. After the latter episode, the cannon was surrounded by a stone and metal enclosure as shown in the photo.
The gun was restored and new pavillion built in 1986 as a centennial gift to the city from Ebco Industries, Chester Millar, First Generation Capital, and the Hudson's Bay Company.
References
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