The 9 O'Clock Gun is a

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

located in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, that is ordinarily fired daily at 21:00 (9 p.m.) PT. The gun is a 12-pound

muzzle-loaded A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) design ...

naval cannon, cast in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1816. The monograms (erroneously referred to as "crests" on the plaque) of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and

Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave General Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, (14 February 17557 April 1831), styled The Honourable Henry Phipps until 1792 and known as The Lord Mulgrave from 1792 to 1812, was a British soldier and politician. He notably served as Foreign Secr ...

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

at the time the cannon was

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William * ...

, are on the barrel. Seventy-eight years later, in about 1894, it was brought to

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...

by the

Department of Marine and Fisheries Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sc ...

to warn

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

of the 18:00 Sunday close of fishing. On October 15, 1898, the gun was fired for the first time in

at noon. The 21:00 firing was later established as a

time signal A time signal is a visible, audible, mechanical, or electronic signal used as a reference to determine the time of day. Church bells or voices announcing hours of prayer gave way to automatically operated chimes on public clocks; however, audi ...

for the general population and to allow the chronometers of ships in port to be accurately set. The

Brockton Point Brockton Point is a headland off the Downtown Peninsula of Vancouver, on the north side of Coal Harbour. Named after Francis Brockton, it is the most easterly part of Stanley Park and is home to Brockton Point Lighthouse, a 100-year-old lighthouse ...

lighthouse keeper, William D. Jones, originally detonated a stick of dynamite over the water until the cannon was installed. The cannon is now activated automatically with an electronic trigger which was installed by the Parks Board electrical department. It is still loaded daily with a black powder charge. The fluorescent lights illuminating the gun from overhead go out exactly ten seconds before it fires, and turn back on a few seconds afterward. The gun was restored and sheltered by a new pavilion designed by architect

Gregory Henriquez Gregory Henriquez (born 1963) is a Canadian architect who has designed community-based mixed-use projects in Vancouver, Toronto and Seattle. He is the managing principal of Vancouver-based Henriquez Partners Architects, founded in 1969 by his fat ...

in 1986 and built as a

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

gift to the city from Ebco Industries, Chester Millar, First Generation Capital, and the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

. In the past, there was a Texaco floating gas station permanently anchored in line with the gun. On Monday May 18, 1964, someone was able to toss rocks from the beach below into the barrel which then perforated the 'O' in the large illuminated sign above the barge. The barge was moved slightly after that event.

Timings

The clock used to time the firing of the gun runs slightly fast, such that towards the end of each year, the gun fires up to 50 seconds before 9pm. At New Year's Day, the clock seems to be reset, and the gun goes off at 9pm again. The 9 O'Clock Gun has been silent for several periods: once during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in 1969 when it was stolen and held by

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Engineering students until a "

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

" was donated to

BC Children's Hospital British Columbia Children's Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. It specializes in health care for patients from birth to 16 years of age (possibly l ...

, in 2007 during a work stoppage, in 2008 when UBC Engineering students painted it red, and on 20 May 2011, 22 July 2017, 26 July 2017, 8 August 2019, 7 October 2019, 17 November 2019, 26 November 2019 and 1 January 2021 with no explanation. After the 1969 theft, the cannon was surrounded by a stone and metal enclosure as shown in the photo. From 30 March to 30 April 2020, the gun was set to fire at 19:00 (7 p.m.), in support of local health care workers during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. However, the 9 O'Clock Gun continued to be fired at 7 p.m. until 31 July 2020, when it was switched back to its eponymous 9pm time. From 4 October 2020, the cannon started firing at 10pm. This is likely due to its clock incorrectly being moved back an hour; a month earlier than PDT actually ends. The gun did not fire on 19 May 2021, and on 10 July 2021. The cannon did not fire for several days in October, 2021 due to damage to the structure.

Notes

External links

Vancouver's Nine O'Clock Gun
{{DEFAULTSORT:9 O'clock Gun Naval artillery Stanley Park Time guns Individual cannons

Timings

See also

Notes

External links