Where Can I Find Unusual Sundials in South Australia

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Sundials feature prominently in many grand gardens around Adelaide. However, they tend to be the common horizontal variety with a plain gnomon casting its shadow onto a circular, octagonal or square dialplate. Other varieties do exist in South Australia too. So, where is the best place to find these not-so-common types of timekeeping devices?

There are at least three locations where I've discovered the projection, equatorial and human sundials.



The first is within the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden in Port Augusta. Its unique projection sundial caught my attention straight away. With a floor area of approximately 30 square metre, the sundial indicates both time and date by projecting a patch of sunlight through a small circular hole in a metal plate. The light moves around multiple 8-shaped markings on the ground as the sun's position varies.



Secondly, I found the equatorial sundial at the Whyalla foreshore to be rather unusual too. This sundial consists of a solid flat plate that lies in the plane of the equator and a rod passing through its centre. The plate has hour markings on both surfaces to cater for the summer and winter shadows. The shadow falls on the upper surface in summer while, in winter, it falls on the lower surface.



The third location is an island that has a sundial requiring your physical involvement. Kingston SE 's human sundial features hour points located around an analemma, but you'll notice that the projecting piece is actually missing. This is because you're about to be the moveable gnomon! By standing on the current date, you'll look along your own shadow and tell what time it is.



Where are some other places you've come across unusual sundials in South Australia? Do let us know your findings.

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