Castle Point Lighthouse, located near the village of

Castlepoint Castlepoint is a small beachside settlement on the Wairarapa coast of the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is home to a lighthouse which stands near the top of the northern end of a reef. The reef is about one kilometre long. At the south ...

in the

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...

of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

of New Zealand,Castle Point Lighthouse profile
(from the

Maritime New Zealand Maritime New Zealand (New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority) is a Crown entity and also a state maritime safety authority responsible for protecting the maritime transport sequence and marine environment within New Zealand and maintaining safety ...

website) is the North Island's tallest

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

standing 52 metres above sea level and is one of only two left in New Zealand with a rotating beam. It is owned and operated by

History

The light was built in 1913 and was originally fueled by

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

. It was officially lit for the first time on Sunday 12 January 1913, sending out a triple flash every 45 seconds that could be seen for 35 kilometres. In 1954 the oil lamp was replaced with an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

one powered by a local diesel

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

. This was subsequently replaced by a connection to the mains grid in 1961. The nearby Castlepoint beach is popular with holiday makers and the lighthouse itself became a popular tourist attraction, acquiring the nickname "The Holiday Light". The light was fully automated in 1988 and is now managed from a central control room in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

References

External links

*
Lighthouses of New Zealand
''Maritime New Zealand'' * http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NA19220410.1.5&e=-------10--1----0-- "The Northern Advocate" scan from 10 April 1922
castlepointlighthouse.com
Lighthouses completed in 1913 Lighthouses in New Zealand Buildings and structures in the Wairarapa Tourist attractions in the Wellington Region 1913 establishments in New Zealand 1910s architecture in New Zealand Transport buildings and structures in the Wellington Region {{lighthouse-stub

History

See also

References

External links