THE SUNDIAL.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18008, 13 July 1928, Page 12 (Supplement)

THE SUNDIAL.

MODEST LITTLE MONUMENT. “Moras Non Numero Nisi Serenas.’’ Such is the inscription on a sundial near Venice. The translation is, “I count only the hours that are serene.’’ There is a softness and a harmony in the words and in the thought unparalleled. What a bland and care-dispelling feeling! How the shadows seem to fade on the dialplate as the sky lours, and time presents only a blank unless as its progress is' marked by what is joyous, and all that is not happy sinks into oblivion. What a fine lesson is conveyed to the mind—to take no note if time but by its benefits, to watch Dnly for the smiles, and neglect the frowns of fate, to compose our lives of bright and gentle moments, turning always to the sunny side of things, and letting the rest slip from our imagination, unheeded or forgotten. Of all the modes of counting time, that by the sundial is perhaps the most striking and most comprehensive. If the hours were all serene, one might probably take as little notice of them as the dial does of those that are clouded.

How many clouded hours must the early settlers of South Canterbury have .experienced when facing the trials and tribulations that beset their path when they set themselves the task of hewing a home amid the virgin tracts of tussock country which stretched from the coast far inland. Possessed of indomitable courage they looked only on the sunny side of things, for theirs was the will to win. To-day Timaru pays tribute to the pioneers who laid the foundation stones so faithfully and so well. The present proud position which Timaru enjoys is a wonderful tribute to the early settlers as a whole, but there is a monument, if it can be called such, which stands in a prominent position overlooking the waters of Ihe Pacific, and commanding a view of the vast stretch of modulating country away to the north and west, which is passed by hundreds without even a thought as to what it is; or what it stands for. This little token of remembrance is none other than a sun-dial, set in the midst of a neat garden plot, between the little cottage perched on the edge of the cliff and the miniature summer house, so much used by’Visitors and townsfblk during the/ brightest. season of the year. To’the-older identities of the town the column, winch is composed of Timaru'bluestone, is‘familiar, but to the younger generation it is apparently just an ornament. Anyone who stops for but a brief period to make an inspection of the column will find on it the inscription, “To the Memory of Robert Heaton Rhodes, of Bluecliffs.” The late Mr Rhodes was one who did his part in the great work which the pioneers undertook, and the sun-dial was erected to his memory by the Caroline Bay Association. Round the upper edges of the column will be found the same Latin words which were chosen as the motto of the famous sun-dial near Venice. On the top of the column is a bronze plate, with the hours of the clock set in Roman letters. The cardinal points of the compass are plainly set out, and with the dial set in position, the shadow cast by the sun records the time of day as accurately as any time-piece. The plans for the memorial were drawn up by Mr Herbert Hall, while the stone work was carried out by Mr S. Mcßride.