Factacular : Lighthouses

is located in

1935 - Somes Sound. Its purpose was to be the main light for the Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour and replaced the light at Pencarrow Head. Was initially powered by a diesel generator but was converted to electricity in 1950. The light was fully automated in 1989.

Bean Rock Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1871 - Te Toka a Kapetawa. Bean Rock Lighthouse is the only surviving wave washed wooden cottage type lighthouse in New Zealand (the other Ponui Passage no longer stands) and is the oldest wooden lighthouse. Bean Rock stands on a group of rocks opposite North Head at the entrance to Waitemata harbour, Auckland. Solar panels now provide the power for the lighthouse and it has an automatic fog horn.

Brothers Island Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1877 - Cook Strait. Brothers Island was the last NZ lighthouse to be de-manned (1990). The Brothers Islands are situated on the western side of Cook Strait. In 1877 the lighthouse was built on the largest of the two islands to replace the light on Mana Island, which sailors often confused with the light at Pencarrow head. The isolation on this station was notorious for sending keepers 'rock happy', making it the least popular of all lighthouses in New Zealand.

Cape Campbell Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1870 - Cook Strait. The original wooden lighthouse was replaced by a metal structure in 1905 and was manned by a keeper until 1986 when it became fully automated. To make the lighthouse stand out from the white hills behind it the lighthouse was painted with black and white stripes. This makes it distinct compared to almost all the other lighthouses in the country that are painted plain white.

Cape Egmont Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1865 - Pungarehu. The lighthouse was built in London, in 1865 the cast-iron segments were shipped to New Zealand and assembled on Mana Island, north of Wellington. However, the spot proved unsatisfactory. "The Mana Island Station was closed in 1877 following several shipping accidents as it was believed this light was being confused with the Pencarrow Light at Wellington Heads. In 1881, the tower was dismantled and carried in sections by ship to Cape Egmont and reassembled on its site.

Cape Foulwind Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1876 - Kaipara North Head. The light was first lit on September 1, 1876. It had a white revolving light fuelled by kerosene, with eight bulls eye lenses. In 1924 the wooden tower was found to be suffering from rot and was replaced with the current concrete tower.

Cape Palliser Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1897 - Cook Strait. Around 250 steep, rickety steps lead to the 18-metre-high red and white striped lighthouse at Cape Palliser. First lit in 1897, the lighthouse was staffed until 1986, when it was automated.

Cape Reinga Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1941 - Kaitaia. It was the last manned light to be built in New Zealand and replaced the Cape Maria Van Deimen Lighthouse, located on nearby Motuopao Island. Accessing that lighthouse was difficult due to the rough seas in the area, so in 1938, it was decided to move the lighthouse to Cape Reinga for safety reasons. In 1987, the lighthouse was fully automated.

Castle Point Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1913 - Masterton. Situated on the Wairarapa coast, a township had already been established when the lighthouse was built in 1913. This made this station one of the more popular assignments as the keeper's children could attend a local school and there were shops and a hotel in the township. The cast iron tower was the last to be shipped from England and assembled on site. The lighthouse was automated in 1988.

Centre Island Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1878 - Foveaux Strait. Marking the western approach to Foveaux Strait between the South Island and Stewart Island, Centre Island Lighthouse was first lit on 16 September, 1878. The light was one of the last to automated in 1987.

Cuvier Island Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1889 - Hauraki Gulf. A lighthouse on Cuvier Island, a small island off the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The light was constructed in 1889 and was the first lighthouse built in New Zealand using cast iron. The light was fully automated in 1982

Dog Island Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1865 - Bluff Harbour. Dog Island at 36 metres high, built in 1865, is New Zealand’s tallest lighthouse. It was built on a very low-lying island and needed to be tall so that it could be seen from ships located far away. The tower is distinctly painted with black and white bands and can be seen easily from Bluff. It was built from stone quarried from the island and began operation in 1865 to warn mariners of the presence of the low, flat rocky island. Dog Island had the first revolving light in the country. It was automated in 1989.

East Cape Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1900 - Te Araroa. The first lighthouse to see the sun in the world, East Cape lighthouse stands on the most easterly point on the North Island. Originally the lighthouse was constructed on East Island, just off East Cape but due to the inaccessibility of the island the tower was moved onto the mainland in 1922. The light was fully automated in 1985

Farewell Spit Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1870 - Bush End Point. Farewell Spit juts 25 km out into Golden Bay at the top of the South Island. The first lighthouse was built in 1869 and lit in June 1870 with the lantern room sitting on top of wooden stilts. By 1891 it was found that the wood was decaying due to the weather and wind blown sand. So the wooden tower was replaced with a steel tower which was completed in January 1897. The light was automated in 1984.

French Pass Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1884 - Rai Valley. French Pass is a channel of water between the mainland and D'Urville Island in the Malborough Sounds. It is marked with two lights, one on the mainland and the other in the middle of the channel. During the 1860's a stone beacon was placed on the reef in the middle of the channel but as regular steamer traffic increased at night a light was needed. In 1882 a light was placed on the stone beacon and in 1884 a tower was built on the mainland. In 1961 the acetylene-powered light was automated. But a keeper stayed on as caretaker for six more years. When the light was replaced in 1967 the keeper was withdrawn.

Kahurangi Point Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1903 - Karamea. Situated on the NW tip of the South Island. The cast iron tower was shipped in, then carted on drays 3km up the beach & winched on a tramway nearly 50 m up the cliff face. The light was first lit in 1903 powered by a kerosene lamp. The light was converted to an automatic gas light in 1926The keepers remained until 3 years later in 1929 when the Murchison earthquake hit which caused serious damage to the station. The original tower was repaired and a new automatic light was lit in March, 1931. The keepers returned until the light was automated in 1960.

Katiki Point (Moeraki) Lighthouse

is located in

New Zealand

1878 - Moeraki. Construction of the lighthouse commenced in 1876 but was delayed by bad weather. Just before the light was to be lit a severe storm struck and shook the tower so violently the lamp glass broke. The lamp was replaced and the wooden tower had to be strengthened before the light was lit in 1878. The light was fully automated in 1975.