Norah Head, originally known as Bungaree Noragh Point, is a headland on the

Central Coast, New South Wales The Central Coast is a peri-urban region in New South Wales, Australia, lying on the Tasman Sea coast to the north of Sydney and south of Newcastle. The local government area of the Central Coast Council has an estimated population of ...

, Australia, south of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and north of Sydney. The nearest suburbs are Noraville, Canton Beach and Toukley. Soldiers Beach is located in Norah Head. The suburb is home to a lighthouse with scenic views, which is also considered a venue for weddings. The Norah Head tidal rock pool next to the Cabbage Tree harbour is a popular destination for families with young children due to its sheltered location.

Lighthouse

The Norah Head Lighthouse was the last significant lighthouse built in New South Wales, a tower, completed in 1903 with monetary assistance from the Hargraves family of Noraville after considerable numbers of ships foundered on the coast near the headland. Originally it was powered by a

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

concentric wick lamp and still today it features a second order bivalve

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

prism floating on a mercury bath. At first, the

prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

was rotated by descending weights, but the light was electrified in 1961 and fully automated in 1995. The light flashes once in 15 seconds, and is visible to , the focal plane is located at . For coastal shipping, two additional light signals are shown: a red light in the northeast sector, emitted from above the sea and a green one towards southwest, emitted from ; both are continuous. The former lighthouse keepers cottage (Head Keeper's separate cottage and two assistants semi-detached quarters) are maintained, and two of these are available for rent.

Heritage listings

Norah Head has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Bush Street: Norah Head Lightstation Precinct

World War II

Near the head, sea battles between the Japanese Navy and Merchant navy ships took place in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

: Three ships were sunk, ''Nimbin'', at , by a mine on 5 December 1940 and the fishing trawler ''Millimumul'' sank with the loss of seven men on 26 March 1941 when it trawled up a German mine laid by the mine ship Pinguin, as well as

BHP Shipping BHP Shipping was an Australian ship transport and shipbuilding arm of BHP. BHP Shipping traces its origins to 1915 when BHP chartered the SS ''Emerald Wings'' to transport its first load of iron ore from Whyalla to Newcastle on 19 January 1915. ...

's ''Iron Chieftain'', at by a submarine on 3 June 1942. The ''Age'', at , was also attacked on the same day.

Geology

There are several unique landforms around the head. Immediately in front of the head there is a rock platform which was formed in the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

periods around 180 - 280 million years ago. In the platform there is a volcanic intrusion, a channel of darker rock running from one side of the platform to the other. The intrusion was created by waves quarrying a softer basalt lava flow out of the surrounding granite. The lava came from an ancient volcano, probably Mount Warrawolong to the west.

Climate

Gallery

Image:Norah head lighthouse - wide view.JPG, Panoramic view File:Norah Head Merchant navy memorial.JPG, Merchant navy memorial File:NorahHeadNSW20100410-1.JPG, Beach off Norah Head File:NorahHeadNSW20100410-2.JPG, Rock platform off Norah Head File:NorahHeadNSW20100410-3.JPG, Looking back at the lighthouse from the rock platform File:NorahHeadNSW20100410-4.JPG, Fishing off Norah Head is a popular activity File:Norah Head rockpool.JPG, Norah Head rockpool at high tide

References

{{Navboxes , title= Suburbs of Central Coast Council , list = {{Suburbs of Central Coast (New South Wales) Australian Merchant Navy Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales) Headlands of New South Wales