Lyttelton is already regarded as one of New Zealand's heritage rich areas, and its community now has the opportunity to back that with official recognition with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT). NZHPT is working on a nomination to enter the Lyttelton Historic Area in Canterbury on its National Register of historic places. Registration is an advocacy tool and is intended to identify and inform people about New Zealand’s historic heritage. There are a number of individual historic places in Lyttelton already entered on the NZHPT Register - including Timeball Station , built in 1876, which was given Category I registration in 1983.