Kahurangi Point Lighthouse

Kahurangi Point Lighthouse
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Place:	Kahurangi Point, Karamea Bight, South Island , New Zealand
Location:	Southland , New Zealand
Geographical location:	40 ° 47 ′ 0 ″  S , 172 ° 13 ′ 0 ″  E Coordinates: 40 ° 47 ′ 0 ″  S , 172 ° 13 ′ 0 ″  E
Height of tower base:	47  m
Fire carrier height :	18 m
Identifier :	FI (2) W 15s
Scope knows:	9 nm (16.7 km )
Operating mode:	1903 Oil lamp automated in 1931
Function:	lighthouse
Operating time:	since Nov. 1903
International ordinal number:	K4506

The Kahurangi Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse on New Zealand's South Island . It is located in the Westland region near Karamea . it stands on Kahurangi Point on Karamea Bight on the northwest tip of New Zealand's South Island . It is operated by Maritime New Zealand .

The cast iron tower was made in sections by Thames Iron Works (Judd Engineering) and was then shipped by ship to the Big River , about 2 miles north of the tower. A ledge on the river that fell dry at low tide was used for unloading, from which the load could be brought ashore.

The segments were then driven up the beach in carts and then pulled up the cliffs about 50 m on a funicular. Three houses were built for the three lighthouse keepers and their families.

The tower was commissioned in November 1903 and had a second-order Fresnel lens . Two red segments in the beacon warn of reefs protruding 7 miles into the sea.

The area around the tower is suitable for horticulture, the sea provided fish and marine animals. The supply of fresh meat was initially problematic. The lighthouse keepers themselves cleared the bush for a sheep pasture, later the Marine Department supplied them with fence wire for a horse and a sheep pasture.

The horses were needed to drive the supplies, which landed on the Big River every six months, in a wagon to the cable car. The supply by sea turned out to be dangerous in rough seas. So the steamer Te Kapu ran aground, the Scow Ngaru struck a leak. Around 1906/07, the ship's cargo was no longer unloaded on the Big River, but was instead transported by boat from the ship directly to a small inlet near the houses of the lighthouse keepers. Later on, one of the lighthouse keepers rode pack horses to Collingwood every month to fetch supplies.

The Marine Department decided in 1925 to automate the tower. For this purpose, the oil burner was replaced by an acetylene lamp in September 1926. The guards left the tower after the Murchison earthquake in 1929, which severely damaged the station. The tower was out of order for over two months because the optics were destroyed and the base of the tower was buried in a landslide. One of the lighthouse keeper's houses and the classroom were destroyed.

A makeshift beacon was used until the tower with a new 800 mm drum lens could go back into operation in March 1931. The tower was manned again. In 1960 it was automated, the gas light was electrified in 1967 and supplied by a diesel generator.

The lighthouse in Kahurangi National Park is within walking distance of Anatori . One of the guards' houses was converted into a hiking shelter.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kahurangi Point . Maritime New Zealand , February 20, 2001, accessed October 18, 2018 .  
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Kahurangi Point (1903). New Zealand Lighthouses , accessed October 18, 2018 .