The Goose Island Lighthouse is operated by the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority and has been unstaffed since 1931. It was originally constructed in 1846 with the use of
convict labour.
On 31 March 1857 the station was raided by
pirates. From 1985 to 1990 a
wind generator was used as a power source for the light, today the electricity is generated by
solar panel
A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...
s.
The tower was built as a -tall rubblestone construction employing a
Fresnel lens, which today is on display in
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
at the
Maritime Museum of Tasmania
The Maritime Museum of Tasmania is a privately operated maritime museum dedicated to the history of Tasmania's association with the sea, ships, and ship-building, and is located at Carnegie House in Sullivans Cove, Hobart, Tasmania.
History
T ...
.
The
focal plane
In Gaussian optics, the cardinal points consist of three pairs of points located on the optical axis of a rotationally symmetric, focal, optical system. These are the '' focal points'', the principal points, and the nodal points. For ''ideal'' ...
of the light source is located 36 m above sea level, the light's
characteristic is a double flash every ten seconds.
Goose Island contains historic relics from the time when the lighthouse was staffed, such as the remains of a wooden
tramway used to supply the lighthouse, as well as the
graves of
light keepers, or members of their families, who died by
drowning.
See also
*
History of Tasmania
*
List of lighthouses in Tasmania
References
External links
Australian Maritime Safety Authority*
Lighthouses completed in 1846
Lighthouses in Tasmania
Commonwealth Heritage List places in Tasmania
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