XN000022-1984-06-24 — Page 7

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SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 1984

THE SERVICE RESERVOIR, WITH A STORAGE CAPACITY OF 7 500 CUBIC METRES, WILL BE CONSTRUCTED OF REINFORCED CONCRETE.

IT WILL PROVIDE PART OF THE FLUSHING WATER SYSTEM FOR NGAU TAU KOK AND KOWLOON BAY AREA.

THE SALT WATER WILL BE DRAWN BY THE SHUM WAN SHAN SALT WATER PUMPING STATION.

THE CONTRACT ALSO INCLUDES LAYING 330 METRES OF SALT WATER MAINS FROM THE PUMPING STATION TO THE SERVICE RESERVOIR.

WORK WILL START IN AUGUST AND TAKE 16 MONTHS TO COMPLETE.

BOOK MARKS CENTENARY OF ROYAL OBSERVATORY

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THE HISTORY AND WORK OF THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY IN HONG KONG ARE OUTLINED IN A BOOK WHICH HAS BEEN PUBLISHED TO MARK THE OBSERVATORY'S CENTENARY.

BY ANTHONY THE BOOK +FROM TIME BALL TO ATOMIC CLOCK+ DYSON OF INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT, TRACES THE GENERAL HISTORY OF METEOROLOGY AS A SCIENCE, PARTICULARLY IN CHINA, WHERE MUCH EARLY WORK WAS DONE AND IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES MADE.

THE INITIAL SUGGESTION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OBSERVATORY IN HONG KONG WAS MADE IN 1879 AND BY THE SUMMER OF 1883 TWO MEN DR WILLIAM DOBERCK, THE GOVERNMENT ASTRONOMER, AND HIS ASSISTANT, FREDERICK FIGG HAD ARRIVED IN HONG KONG. THEY FORMALLY BEGAN WORK ON JANUARY 1, 1884.

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE OBSERVATORY WERE OFTEN DIFFICULT, WITH DOBERCK COMPLAINING ABOUT THE LEVEL OF STAFF HE BELIEVED NECESSARY FOR THE EFFICIENT OPERATION OF THE OBSERVATORY.

ONE OF THE EARLIEST PROJECTS, A STORM WARNING SYSTEM, PROVED INEFFECTIVE WHEN THE WARNING SIGNALS WERE BLOWN DOWN BY THE VERY WINDS THEY WERE MEANT TO INDICATE, A TIME SERVICE FOR MARINERS WAS ESTABLISHED IN TSIM SHA TSUI, WHERE A LARGE TIME BALL WAS

-- LATER MOVED TO SIGNAL DROPPED EACH DAY AT 1 PM. THE TIME BALL HILL WAS USED UNTIL 1933.

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MORE RECENTLY, THE OBSERVATORY TIME SERVICE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY AN ATOMIC CLOCK.

THE PUBLICATION, WITH SIX PICTORIAL SECTIONS AND MANY ILLUSTRATIONS, PROVIDES INFORMATION ON TYPHOONS, THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF HONG KONG AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OBSERVATORY'S MODERN SCIENTIFIC SERVICES.

+FROM TIME BALL TO ATOMIC CLOCK+, IS AVAILABLE AT $34 FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, G.P.0. BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE, CENTRAL ROYAL OBSERVATORY, NATHAN ROAD, DISTRICT OFFICES AND LEADING BOOKSHOPS.

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