The Wollongong Head Lighthouse, also known as Flagstaff Hill Lighthouse or Flagstaff Point 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 adjacent to the

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

-listed

Wollongong Harbour precinct Wollongong Harbour Precinct is a heritage-listed shipping harbour at Cliff Road and Endeavour Drive, in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1837. The historic precinct includes Belmore Basin, Government Dam, Government B ...

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

, a coastal city south of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

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

. It overlooks the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

from the top of Flagstaff Point, directly east of the city centre. Wollongong is the only place in the east of Australia to have two lighthouses located in close proximity of each other, the other being

Wollongong Breakwater Lighthouse Wollongong Breakwater Lighthouse, also known as Wollongong Harbour Lighthouse, is a historic lighthouse situated on the southern breakwater of the heritage-listed Wollongong Harbour, in Wollongong, New South Wales in Australia. Wollongong is t ...

. Wollongong Harbour is home to private vessels and the local fishing fleet in its inner Belmore Basin. South of the city is

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

, a major steelmaking, minerals, grain and vehicle handling harbour. A further hazard to shipping is an island group known collectively as The Five Islands lying a short distance off the coast.

History

Built by the Department of Shipping and Transport in 1936 to guide maritime traffic into Port Kembla Harbour located to the south. It was not only the first new lighthouse in New South Wales since 1903 but also the first to install fully automatic flashing lights. The tower is constructed of reinforced concrete to withstand the strong winds and splashing waves where it stands on the eastern side of Flagstaff Point. The light is coloured white and red. White with a 4.5 second duration is visible through 100 degrees, while red is visible through 80 degrees. The latter indicates the presence of shallow water. Three 68 pounder cannons (now defunct) were installed near its base in 1879 to repel any possible attacks by the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n navy. It finally became the sole functioning lighthouse at Flagstaff Point when the old Wollongong Lighthouse situated only a few hundred metres away on the Belmore Basin to the north was discontinued in 1974. On 7 January 2000, the Wollongong Head Lighthouse was listed as a local government

building for being the first fully automatic electric lighthouse in Australia. Due to its vantage point, it is a popular picnic-come-scenic spot by locals, visitors and campus students from the nearby

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1936 Buildings and structures in Wollongong Lighthouses in New South Wales 1936 establishments in Australia Tourist attractions in Wollongong

History

See also

References

External links