Kirstenbosch Kirstenbosch detail
This sundial was constructed by J.R. Miller at the Royal Observatory in Cape Town and presented to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in 1920. It bears the inscription HORAS SIGNO UMBRA MOVENTE, FLORES GIGNO LUCE FOVENTE, ‘I show the hours by the moving shadow, I bring forth flowers nurtured by sunlight.’  South African Standard Time is two hours ahead of GMT, and its prime meridian lies 30 degrees East.  Noon on the dial is offset by approximately 44 minutes, allowing for Kirstenbosch’s longitude of 18d 52m, 11d 8m west of the meridian.  The representation of the EOT is unique as far as I know.  Each hour numeral represents a month (1 – Jan, 2 – Feb, etc), and the minutes offset for the EOT are marked around the rim of the dial in positions corresponding to the date in the month, as can be seen in the detail picture, with for example zero at around 1st September (hour IX), and 16 minutes around 7th November (hour XI).

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