Mary Jane Bennett ( Hebden, 1816 – 6 July 1885) was the first official

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

in New Zealand, and the only woman to ever hold the role. Hebden emigrated to New Zealand in 1840 and was soon married to George White Bennett who farmed at

Lowry Bay Lowry may refer to: People * Calvin Lowry (born 1983), American football player * Dave Lowry (born 1965), Canadian ice hockey player * Desiree Lowry (born 1972), Puerto Rican beauty pageant titleholder * Hiram Harrison Lowry (1843–1924), Ameri ...

and worked as a clerk 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 ...

. They had five children born between 1842 and 1855. In 1852 George took the position of lighthouse keeper at

Pencarrow Head Pencarrow Head, also known as Pencarrow, is a headland in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and the name of the surrounding area. The name is Welsh and formed from Pen which translates to English as Head and Carrow which is a burial site. The ...

. Living conditions at the lighthouse were hard: the house was not weatherproof, wood and water had to be carried from some distance away and winds battered the house. Following the death of her husband who drowned in 1855, she continued to operate the lighthouse. Better housing may have been the reason for her remaining and taking over the lighthouse keeping. In January 1859 a proper lighthouse was built and Bennett was officially appointed as keeper. Pencarrow Lighthouse was the first permanent lighthouse in New Zealand. Bennett was assisted in her duties by William Lyall and performed well in the job. She left in about 1865 and returned to England where she died in 1885. Three of her children George, Francis and William later returned to New Zealand. William became assistant keeper of the lighthouse in 1880. He died in 1929. The story of Bennett's life has inspired three books: a children's book ''Lucy goes to the lighthouse'' by

Grant Sheehan Grant Sheehan is a New Zealand photographer and publisher, raised in Nelson and now based in Wellington. Sheehan’s photographs have featured in magazines and newspapers such as Condé Nast Traveler and the New York Times, and in over 24 books, i ...

and Rosalind Clark, ''Weathered Bones'' by

Michele Powles Michele Powles (born 1976) is a New Zealand novelist, playwright, and non-fiction writer. Background Powles grew up in the Hawke's Bay. She studied law at Victoria University of Wellington and completed a Master's in Creative Writing at Universi ...

and ''Guiding Lights: Extraordinary Lives of Lighthouse Women'' by Shona Riddell. Upper lighthouse at Pencarrow Head

References

External links

''Lighthouses, daring rescues and an ANZAC tortoise'' on ABC radio.
21 January 2021. Interview with Shona Riddell, author of ''Guiding Lights: Extraordinary Lives of Lighthouse Women''
''New Zealand's first lighthouse turns 150'' on RNZ
4 January 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Mary Jane 1816 births 1885 deaths Women lighthouse keepers People from Yorkshire English emigrants to New Zealand