Signal Hill is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, it is known for the Noon Gun that is operated there by the South African Navy and South African Astronomical Observatory. In 1836, a time ball was set up at the Cape Town observatory; however it was not visible to ships in the harbor, so a second time ball was erected on Signal Hill in order to relay the precise moment of 1:00pm Cape Mean Time. In this way ships in the bay were able to check their marine chronometers. The daily practice of dropping of the ball continued until 1934, when it was made redundant by radio signals. The guns on Signal Hill were used to notify the public when a ship was in trouble and there was a possibility of casualties on the coast near Cape Town. Three guns would be fired from Chavonne Battery, followed by a single gun in answer from Imhoff Battery. Up until this day on noon precisely a cannon shot can be heard.
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