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 during th ...

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 cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, that is ordinarily fired daily at 21:00 (9 p.m.) PT.

Details

The gun is a 12-pound

muzzle-loaded A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...

naval cannon, cast in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, 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 mainta ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

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 Army officer and politician who served as Foreign Secret ...

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 Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...

by the Department of Marine and Fisheries to warn

fishermen A fisherman or fisher 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. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

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, au ...

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 a 100-year-old lighthouse and several hand-carve ...

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 residential, commercial and institutional projects in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Seattle. He is the managing principal of Henriquez Partners Arc ...

in 1986 and built as a

centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

gift to the city from

Ebco Industries Ebco Industries is a custom-manufacturing company based in Richmond, British Columbia. Ebco was founded by Helmut and Hugo Eppichfrom a Gottschee origin, a German-speaking family in 1956 as a small Tool and Die shop, and it has subsequently expand ...

, Chester Millar, First Generation Capital, and the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

Engineering students until a "

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

" 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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. Most recently, the gun has gone silent due to gunpowder shortages - from 11 February to 27 February 2022 and from 3 January to 10 January 2023.

Notes

External links

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

Details

Timings

See also

Notes

External links