Kiama Light, also known as Kiama Harbour 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 m ...

Kiama Kiama () is a coastal town 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. Kiama features several popular surfing beaches and caravan parks, and numerous alfresco cafes and restaurants ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. The lighthouse is located close to the

Kiama Blowhole The Kiama Blowhole is a blowhole in the town of Kiama, New South Wales, Australia. The name ‘Kiama’ has long been translated as “where the sea makes a noise”. It is one of the town's major tourist attractions. Under certain sea condition ...

on Blowhole Point, south of Kiama Harbour.

History

Tenders for the construction of the tower were called in 1886, ten years after Robertson Basin, a man-made basic, was opened in Kiama Harbour. The tower was commissioned on 1 January 1887. It was designed by Edward Orpen Moriarty MA MInstCE. The light was established in 1887. The original apparatus was an oil burner with a

catadioptric A catadioptric optical system is one where refraction and reflection are combined in an optical system, usually via lenses (dioptrics) and curved mirrors ( catoptrics). Catadioptric combinations are used in focusing systems such as searchlights, ...

fixed lens and light intensity of 600 cd. The characteristic was fixed green and it was visible for . Two houses were constructed, a principal

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 ...

's house close to the tower, and a one-story assistant keeper's house a bit further. In 1908 the power source was upgraded to

coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

with an intensity of 1,500 cd and a range of . A report from 1913 says that the light is unwatched and the keeper's house is empty, though officially the station was only demanned in 1920. According to records, in 1920 the light was further upgraded to acetylene gas

carbide lamp Carbide lamps, or acetylene gas lamps, are simple lamps that produce and burn acetylene (C2H2) which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC2) with water (H2O). Acetylene gas lamps were used to illuminate buildings, as lighthouse b ...

, the characteristic was changed to a group flashing and the light was automated. The principal keeper's house was destroyed by vandals soon after this, though the other cottage remained as it was the residence of the

harbour pilot A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

s. in the 1920s. The assistant keeper's house was used for many years as the pilot's cottage and now serves as a museum and a tourist information centre. In 1969 the light was electrified and connected to

mains electricity Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to h ...

, with a 120 V

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 ...

bank as backup. The current light source is a 120 V, 1000 W,

quartz 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 sma ...

Structure

The foundation of the tower is a concrete slab, deep and in diameter. The building is made of bricks, cemented outside and plastered within. Ascending the tower is done by three iron ladders leading from one storey to the next. The top of the structure is surrounded by an artistic railing. The tower is surrounded by a hexagonal fence

Site operation

The lighthouse is managed 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 ...

. The museum is managed by the Kiama Historical Society.

Visiting

The site is accessible by road and parking is available. The museum is open on weekends, but the tower is closed to the public.

Notes

References

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External links

{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1887 Lighthouses in New South Wales 1887 establishments in Australia