Mokohinau Islands Lighthouse

Mokohinau Islands Lighthouse
Mokohinau Islands Lighthouse (September 25, 1902)
Place:	Burgess Island , Mokohinau Islands , North Island , New Zealand
Location:	Auckland , New Zealand
Geographical location:	35 ° 54 '24.4 "  S , 175 ° 6' 55.1"  E Coordinates: 35 ° 54 '24.4 "  S , 175 ° 6' 55.1"  E
Height of tower base:	52  m
Fire carrier height :	14 m
Identifier :	FL W 10s
Scope knows:	19 nm (35.2 km )
Operating mode:	1883 oil lamp 1939 electrification 1980 automated
Function:	lighthouse
Construction time:	1883
Operating time:	1883–1940 since 1947
International ordinal number:	K3734

Mokohinau Islands Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Burgess Island , one of the Mokohinau Islands off the northeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand . It is operated by Maritime New Zealand . With its isolated location on an uninhabited island 50 km from Cape Rodney , it is one of the lighthouses furthest from the mainland of the country. It serves as orientation for ships heading from the Pacific to New Zealand.

The cylindrical brick tower was built in 1883 and put into operation on June 18 of the same year. The 14 m high tower is 52 m high. It was initially lit by an oil lamp . In 1939 the tower was electrified and powered by a diesel generator. In 1980 the tower was automated and the lighthouse keepers removed. Since then, like all New Zealand lighthouses, it has been remotely controlled from a central control room at Maritime New Zealand's headquarters in Wellington . In 1996 the 1000 W lamp and the diesel generator were replaced by a rotating beacon with a 35 W halogen lamp, which is powered by battery-backed solar cells.

After the steamship Niagara sank on June 19, 1940 through one of the mines laid by a German destroyer on shipping lanes in the area, it was assumed that the destroyer used this lighthouse for orientation. The beacon was therefore taken out of service until 1947.

The lighthouse keepers on the island were only supplied with supplies three times a year and otherwise had no way of communicating with the mainland. If the supply ship was delayed, the guards would have to eat whatever they could find on the island to survive. A letter of complaint to a minister shortly after commissioning did not bring any improvement. In 1908, one of the lighthouse keepers built a small tin boat with tin sails and put letters to a friend, the nearest shop and the New Zealand Marine Department in it. The boat was found on the mainland and a supply ship was already underway after nine days. The Auckland Museum exhibits this boat as “the world's smallest mail boat”.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Mokohinau Islands . Maritime New Zealand , accessed October 18, 2018 .