Macquarie Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
The Macquarie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light, was the first, and is the longest serving, lighthouse
site in Australia
. It is located on Dunbar Head, Vaucluse
(approximately 2 km south of South Head
) near the entrance to Sydney Harbour. There has been a navigational aid in this vicinity since 1791 and a lighthouse near the present site since 1818. The current lighthouse was completed in 1883.
The lighthouse is still fully operational and is under the control of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
. The grounds are managed by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust
.
The lighthouse was featured on the crest of Macquarie University
from inception, up until the present Vice Chancellor decided the university needed a change of logo. In 2008, the lighthouse was replaced with what the university describes as an 'abstract, timeless image' of water lillies.
In 1791 and within one year of the arrival of the First Fleet
, a flagstaff was erected on the site. This was followed, in 1793, by a tripod mounted iron basket which originally burned wood, and later coal.
On July 11, 1816, the foundation for the first lighthouse was laid by Lachlan Macquarie
, Governor of New South Wales, who called it Macquarie Tower. It was designed by Francis Greenway
, a famous convict architect, under the instructions of Macquarie, and built in soft sandstone
. The lighthouse was first lit in 30 November 1818.
The soft sandstone proved short-lived, and even as early as 1823 it started crumbling, and large still bands were placed the keep the structure together. By 1878 the NSW Government decided a new tower was needed. The construction of the new tower started in 1881, just 4 metres away from the original structure. It was officially lit in 1883.
The new lighthouse was designed by James Barnet
in a design similar to the original tower, albeit built in stronger materials. The crown and the lantern room were larger so a larger apparatus can be accommodated. Also added was a black gunmetal railing, which was to become one of Barnet's hallmarks.
The original lens was a Chance Brothers
2 metres (6.6 ft), sixteen sided, dioptric, holophotal, Fresnel lens
, with a characteristic of one eight second white flash every minute (L Fl W. 60s), visible for 25 nautical miles (46.3 km).
The original light source used on clear weather was a gas burner. On bad weather an electric arc lamp
was used, electricity being supplied by a de Méritens
generators
driven by a Crossley
coal gas engine. On especially bad weather a second generator was also operated, resulting in a 6,000,000 cd
light, the world most powerful at the time. One of the generators, the switchboard and one arc lamp still exist, owned by the Powerhouse Museum
. The generator and the switchboard are on display at the lighthouse.
The lantern of the old lighthouse was immediately removed, and the structure was demolished several years later.
In 1912 the apparatus was converted to a vaporised kerosene
mantle, to lower costs. In 1933 the light returned to use electricity, as the tower was connected to mains electricity
. The current first order bivalve Fresnel lens
was installed at that time.
In 1976 the Macquarie Lighthouse was fully automated, the last lightstation staff left the site in 1989. The grounds were transferred to the management of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust in 2001.
The two remaining cottages on the site include the head keeper's cottage built circa 1840 on the south side and the assistant lighthouse keepers' semi-detached cottages built in 1881 on the north side (converted into one cottage circa 1991). The former is now the oldest intact freestanding lightkeeper's quarters in Australia. Both these cottages are on 125 year Commonwealth leases to end between 2116 & 2119. A third cottage for the engineer and assistants built in 1885 was demolished in 1970 to make way for four townhouses still present on the site. In 2004, the head keeper's cottage (on the south side) was offered for sale at a price of A$
1.95 million.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
site in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is located on Dunbar Head, Vaucluse
Vaucluse, New South Wales
Vaucluse is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Vaucluse is located north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and the Municipality of Woollahra....
(approximately 2 km south of South Head
Sydney Heads
Sydney Heads , is the entrance to Port Jackson in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north, South Head and Dunbar Head are to the south. Middle Head, Georges Head and Chowder Head are to the west and within the bay...
) near the entrance to Sydney Harbour. There has been a navigational aid in this vicinity since 1791 and a lighthouse near the present site since 1818. The current lighthouse was completed in 1883.
The lighthouse is still fully operational and is under the control of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian Maritime Safety Authority is responsible, on behalf of the Commonwealth Government of Australia, for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations...
. The grounds are managed by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust
Sydney Harbour Federation Trust
The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust is an Australian Government agency established in 2001 to preserve and rehabilitate a number of defence and other Commonwealth lands in and around Sydney Harbour. These lands were off limits to the public, some for over 100 years...
.
The lighthouse was featured on the crest of Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
from inception, up until the present Vice Chancellor decided the university needed a change of logo. In 2008, the lighthouse was replaced with what the university describes as an 'abstract, timeless image' of water lillies.
History
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
, a flagstaff was erected on the site. This was followed, in 1793, by a tripod mounted iron basket which originally burned wood, and later coal.
On July 11, 1816, the foundation for the first lighthouse was laid by Lachlan Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
, Governor of New South Wales, who called it Macquarie Tower. It was designed by Francis Greenway
Francis Greenway
-References:* *...
, a famous convict architect, under the instructions of Macquarie, and built in soft sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. The lighthouse was first lit in 30 November 1818.
The soft sandstone proved short-lived, and even as early as 1823 it started crumbling, and large still bands were placed the keep the structure together. By 1878 the NSW Government decided a new tower was needed. The construction of the new tower started in 1881, just 4 metres away from the original structure. It was officially lit in 1883.
The new lighthouse was designed by James Barnet
James Barnet
James Johnstone Barnet was the Colonial Architect for New South Wales from 1862 - 1890.-Life and career:Barnet was born at Almericlose, Arbroath, Scotland. The son of a builder, he was educated at the local high school...
in a design similar to the original tower, albeit built in stronger materials. The crown and the lantern room were larger so a larger apparatus can be accommodated. Also added was a black gunmetal railing, which was to become one of Barnet's hallmarks.
The original lens was a Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands , in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology....
2 metres (6.6 ft), sixteen sided, dioptric, holophotal, Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
, with a characteristic of one eight second white flash every minute (L Fl W. 60s), visible for 25 nautical miles (46.3 km).
The original light source used on clear weather was a gas burner. On bad weather an electric arc lamp
Arc lamp
"Arc lamp" or "arc light" is the general term for a class of lamps that produce light by an electric arc . The lamp consists of two electrodes, first made from carbon but typically made today of tungsten, which are separated by a gas...
was used, electricity being supplied by a de Méritens
Auguste de Méritens
Baron Auguste de Méritens was a French electrical engineer of the 19th century.He was born in 1834.He is best known his work on magneto generators, particularly those used for arc lighting and lighthouses...
generators
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
driven by a Crossley
Crossley
Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group.More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines have been built....
coal gas engine. On especially bad weather a second generator was also operated, resulting in a 6,000,000 cd
Candela
The candela is the SI base unit of luminous intensity; that is, power emitted by a light source in a particular direction, weighted by the luminosity function . A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela...
light, the world most powerful at the time. One of the generators, the switchboard and one arc lamp still exist, owned by the Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the other being the historic Sydney Observatory...
. The generator and the switchboard are on display at the lighthouse.
The lantern of the old lighthouse was immediately removed, and the structure was demolished several years later.
In 1912 the apparatus was converted to a vaporised kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
mantle, to lower costs. In 1933 the light returned to use electricity, as the tower was connected to mains electricity
Mains electricity
Mains is the general-purpose alternating current electric power supply. In the US, electric power is referred to by several names including household power, household electricity, powerline, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, street power, and grid power...
. The current first order bivalve Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
was installed at that time.
In 1976 the Macquarie Lighthouse was fully automated, the last lightstation staff left the site in 1989. The grounds were transferred to the management of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust in 2001.
The two remaining cottages on the site include the head keeper's cottage built circa 1840 on the south side and the assistant lighthouse keepers' semi-detached cottages built in 1881 on the north side (converted into one cottage circa 1991). The former is now the oldest intact freestanding lightkeeper's quarters in Australia. Both these cottages are on 125 year Commonwealth leases to end between 2116 & 2119. A third cottage for the engineer and assistants built in 1885 was demolished in 1970 to make way for four townhouses still present on the site. In 2004, the head keeper's cottage (on the south side) was offered for sale at a price of A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
1.95 million.