WHAT'S THE TIME

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 69, 2 October 1939, Page 8

WHAT'S THE TIME

THE WORLD STANDARD CONFUSING VARIATIONS Never before has so much interest been taken in the difference between the time of 'day in New Zealand and London as during the past eventful month. In brief New Zealand Standard Time (N.Z.S.T.) is 11 % hours ahead of Greenwich Mean, Time (G.M. T.) and neither of these change, but there are variations which are sometimes confusing. A simple method aB finding G. M.T at any time in New Zealand is to add 30 minutes to N.Z.S.T. and alter a.m. to p.m., or vice versa. Thus p.m. (N. Z.) j becomes 5.30 a.m. (G.M.T.). It may lie thought that a better method would be to count back 11 Vn hours but, while this is simple at the exact hour or half-hour it is not so quick when the hands are at other parts of the idial. One variation which puzzles many people is aroused by the frequent broadcasts and rcbroadcasts from the 8.8. G. station at Davcntry. At 3.30 p.m. in New Zealand the 4 a. rrf London news session is. introduced by Big Ben striking five. This is explaindd by the fact that the big clock at Westminster is nowrregiste r ing English Summer Time which Is one hour fast on G.M.T.. ENGLISH SUMMER TIME. This does not alter the difference between London and New Zealand 1 standard times, but it makes New 1 Zealand only 10% hours ahead of English summer time. So bv adding 1% hours to our time here and changing morning to evening or vice versa we see at once what time it is by the public clocks in Britain. This is also Berlin Standard Time which never alters. The Germans do not observe summer time. All these comparisons were correct only till Sat- 1 uttday 'fnr at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Sen tember 21, clocks in New Zealand were all put or. 30 minutes in accordance with the Summer Time act. This will make our time a full 12 hours ahead of Greenwich and calculation will thus be simplified.

British summer time and the strik ing of Big Ben will only be a, complication for another three "\vecl<s as summer time in Britain ends on October 8. On, that delate all public clocks Avill be put back an hour and the onlv time observed will be Greenwich which, by the way, is perhaps the only thing in the whole world 011 which all nations arc agreed today.