Richmond River Light, also known as Ballina Head Light and Ballina Light, is an active

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 ...

located at Ballina Head, a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

Ballina, New South Wales Ballina () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire local government area. Ballina's urban population at June 2018 was 26,381. The town lies on the Richmond River and serves as a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The headland is at the northern side of the entrance to the Richmond River. It used to serve to guide ships into the river port and is used also serves as a

leading light Leading lights (also known as range lights in the United States) are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At night ...

into the river, together with a steamer's masthead lantern with a 200 mm lens which is raised on a wooden structure from it.

History

The station was established with a temporary light that was installed in 1866 from plans by James Barnet, at the same time of the installation of the

Clarence River Light Clarence River Light, also known as Yamba Light or Clarence Head Light, is an active lighthouse located on Pilot Hill, a hill in Wooli Park, Yamba, New South Wales, Australia, south of the entrance of Clarence River. The current lighthouse wa ...

. The current lighthouse is one of five lighthouses of similar design designed and built by James Barnet in 1878–80, the other four being

Fingal Head Light Fingal Head Light is an active lighthouse located at Fingal Head, New South Wales, Australia, a headland about south of Point Danger, which marks the Queensland border. History The station was first established on 19 February 1872, a wooden ...

(now demolished), Tacking Point Lighthouse and

Crowdy Head Light Crowdy Head Light is an active lighthouse located at Crowdy Head, a headland between Forster and Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. It is registered with the Register of the National Estate. History The first station in the area w ...

. A tender was called in 1878, it was built in 1879 and lit in 1880. The apparatus was a fixed light 4th order catadioptric apparatus of less than 1000 cd and was visible for . It was powered by colza oil. As the light was operated in conjunction with a nearby

pilot station Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000. Geography Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of t ...

, only one light keeper was required. Richmond River Light - during demolition of annexe, November 1940

In 1920 the light was converted to acetylene gas and automated. In November 1940, the annexe and the porch connected to the lighthouse were demolished.Though says the demolition occurred when the light was converted to electricity, which puts in the 1960s, has a picture of the demolition itself, taking place in November 1940 The light was electrified in the 1960s. The current light source is a 28,000 cd, 1,000

Watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

120

Volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defi ...

tungsten-halogen lamp A halogen lamp (also called tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, and quartz iodine lamp) is an incandescent lamp consisting of a tungsten filament sealed in a compact transparent envelope that is filled with a mixture of an inert gas and a small ...

, and the power source is the Mains with a

Battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

standby. It shows a

light characteristic A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the cha ...

of four white flashes every 16 s (Fl.(4)W. 16s)

Structure

The tower is very similar in design to the other four lighthouses. It is circular, in diameter (internally), with walls tapering from at the bottom to at the top. The tower is constructed of stone, and cement rendered, and painted white. On top of the tower there is an oversailing

bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * felds ...

platform, supported at by twelve bluestone

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

s, at about above the ground. The platform can be reached by an iron stair inside the tower. Around the perimeter of the platform is a metal handrail. The platform is topped by the simple metal dome which houses the optical apparatus. Originally the lighthouse had a porch, rectangular

annexe Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations. It may also refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada * The Annex (New H ...

for the duty room and oil store. These were all demolished in November 1940. A one-story keeper's house is still present at the premises.

Site operation

The light is currently operated by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

According to , though says

New South Wales Maritime Authority NSW Maritime, the trading name of Maritime Authority of New South Wales, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia responsible for marine safety, regulation of commercial and recreational boating and oversight of port operatio ...

. and the site is managed by the New South Wales Department of Lands.

Visiting

The site is open to the public and accessible, but the tower is closed.

Notes

References

* * * * * * Seems to be based on the same source of , except for some discrepancies. *

External links

{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1866 Lighthouses completed in 1879 Lighthouses in New South Wales 1866 establishments in Australia Ballina, New South Wales