Macquarie Lighthouse

Macquarie Lighthouse
	Macquarie Lighthouse (2007)
Place:	Vaucluse ; New South Wales ; Australia
Location:	Dunbar Head
Geographical location:	33 ° 51 '14.2 " S , 151 ° 17' 6.6" E Coordinates: 33 ° 51 '14.2 " S , 151 ° 17' 6.6" E
Height of tower base:	79 m
Fire carrier height :	105 m
Identifier :	Fl (2) W 10s.
Scope knows:	25 nm (46.3 km )
Optics:	Fresnel
Operating mode:	electric
Function:	Orientation fire
Construction time:	1818 (automated 1976)
International ordinal number:	K 2632

The first sandstone Macquarie Lighthouse, built in 1816-1818. The photo was taken in 1870 from an original by James Barnet.

The 26-meter-high Macquarie Lighthouse was the first and is the longest working lighthouse in Australia . It is located on Dunbar Head near Vaucluse , a suburb of Sydney at the entrance to Sydney Harbor . The first navigation aids for ships have been available here since 1791 and a stone lighthouse since 1818. The current lighthouse was completed in 1883.

history

In 1791, one year after reaching the First Fleet , a flagpole was erected at the current location, and in 1793 a wooden tripod was erected and a fireplace that could be fired with coal was prepared.

In 1818 the first sandstone lighthouse was built at its current location by Francis Greenway , an architect who had been sentenced to death for fraudulent bankruptcy in England and transported to what was then a convict colony in Australia . It was built on the instructions of Governor Lachlan Macquarie , after whom the tower is named. The soft and weather-prone local Hawkesbury sandstone did not last long and the tower was rebuilt 40 meters from the original location in 1878. The style of today's building is neoclassical .

In 1883, today's Macquarie Lighthouse was put into operation. It was designed by James Barnet and the current tower is very similar in shape to the original; however, it was made of more durable material. A Fresnel lens to focus light was installed in 1933.

The Macquarie Lighthouse has been working fully automatically since 1976, the last employee left the tower in 1989. The lighthouse has been owned by the Sydney Harbor Federation Trust since 2001 . In 2004 one of the lighthouse keeper's houses was offered for AUS $ 1.95 million .

The lighthouse's lighting system is still working today and is operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority .

The Macquarie Lighthouse was part of the Macquarie University logo for years until a vice chancellor of the university decided that the university should have a new logo. In 2008 the lighthouse was again included in the logo as an "abstract, timeless symbol".