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Barrenjoey Lighthouse - Palm Beach - Sydney - New South Wales (NSW)
A view of Palm Beach from Barrenjoey Lighthouse
[edit] District History
Barrenjoey Lighthouse, viewed from West Head.
- Aboriginal inhabitants in area- Garigal clan of Guringai speaking people. Lands extended from Broken Bay to Port Jackson and to Lane Cove.
- Smallpox epidemic killed 50%-90% in 1789.
- No indications aborigines camped on headland.
- Arthur Phillip 2 March 1788, named "Barrenjuee" (Little Kangaroo or Wallaby). Barrenjoey has had at least 9 different spellings.
- Land grant 400 acres 1816 to Surgeon James Napper RN by Gov. Macquarie. -Headland to Whale Beach,8/- pa.
- Government repurchased headland 1881 £1250 from Wentworth family
- 1804 Pat Flynn had a large garden below Observation Pt (facing Pittwater south of golf course) to supply passing ships.
- 1843 Customs Station set up under John B Howard. Near ranger's cottage. Constructed Smugglers Track. Smuggling of rum, brandy, tobacco. Today drugs & narcotics.
- Albert Black (1840-1890) customs officer, adopted grandson of merchant Simeon Lord famous in early Sydney.
- Customs House burnt down 1976
- 2004-2005 Construction of a Museum and a Public Toilet next to the lighthouse.
[edit] Lighthouse History
- 1850's - Fire in a basket in rough weather. Shelter for coasters and coal ships.
- In 1870s 370 ships per year up Hawkesbury. In 1863 1669 vessels departed Sydney Harbor to go North.
- 1868 - 81 - Flagpole and 2 wooden towers with oil lamps - Stewart towers after Member for E. Sydney, visible 8 miles (12 km). Current location is at the site of the trig station, west of the lighthouse and to the east at the memorial cairn (flagpole hole)
- Customs station linked by telegraph line to Sydney via, Telegraph Rd Pymble and Castle Hill(1870).
- 1880 -1881 - Barrenjoey lighthouse built - visible 15 miles (28 km). Illuminated 1 Aug 1881.
- Unlit 1941-45 (WW2).
[edit] Lighthouse Development and Details
- Designed by James Barnet, ex Scotland, NSW Colonial Architect (1865). Designed 13 lighthouses and almost all major public buildings over 30 years.
- Francis Hixson, Superintendent of Lighthouses.
- Builder IsaacBanks, Redfern. £13 695 + £2 210 for light. Scottish masons.
- Built 1880-81 of local Hawkesbury sandstone quarried on site. A time capsule containing papers (lists of names etc. and local newspapers incl. SMH) and coins laid in foundation stone.
- Cottages have 30,500L rainwater tank each.
- Originally Non-flashing red, kerosene wick lamp (to distinguish from South Head)
- Changed to flashing white 1932 (acetylene burner)
- 4 x ½ sec flashes, 1 sec gaps, then 20 sec gap.
- 1881 wick type kerosene lamp 700 cp visible 15 miles (25 km)
- 1932 acetylene lamp 6000 cp, flashing white. 25 miles (40 km)
- 1972 electric lamp 75 000 cp flashing white. 25 miles (40 km)
[edit] In Oil Room
- Signal flags. Semaphore flags. Telegraph link to Sydney via Castle Hill
- Kerosene tin.
- Dalen acetylene flasher burner. Gustav Dalen (Sweden) Invented storing acetylene dissolved in acetone in bottles, increased safety, and Dalen flasher which cut gas use between light flashes and avoided expensive rotating lens.
- Dalen Sun valve -1907 (Nobel prize1912).
- Diesel backup generator
- Battery backup
- Recent new underground power line.
- Photoelectric cell at base of stairs switches light on and off.
- The oil lamp is now restored and in the light house
[edit] The Light and Tower
- 120V 1000W quartz halogen 75 000 cp, flashing white (4x ½ sec, 1 sec space, repeated every 20 sec).
- 2 car headlights = 1000 cp Barrenjoey is 75 car headlights.
- Lens is still original made by Chance Bros (Birmingham). 2nd order 700 mm, non-rotating drum type. (2nd biggest made, biggest 900 mm). Originally had curtains to protect lamp during day - acts like magnifying glass. Can melt burner, start bushfires.
- Tower height 20 m. 1m thick at bottom, 0.6m at top. Railing is made from Gunmetal Bronze, considered indestructible in its time.
- Elevation of light 113 m. Range 35 km. (Distance to horizon at height 113 m =40 km.)
- Hydrography monitoring digital camera hourly pictures of beach channels -stations around the world, ARGUS project at Uni. of Oregon. This camera output on Internet - see ADFA and serach for Palm Beach.
[edit] Keepers and Cottages
- Head Keepers cottage + 2 assistant keepers cottages. Sandstone with galvanized iron roof. Keepers had to be married.
- George Mulhall 1881 - 85. Keeper of Stewart Towers 1868 - 1881.
- George Mulhall Jnr 1881 - 1891. Struck by lightning and badly burned, bound arm in snakeskin to ward away strikes. (Myth that lightning also killed his father, buried on headland).
- John Berryman 1931-1932
- Cottages unoccupied 1932-60 subject to neglect and vandalism. Leased 1960s - 1998 ( NPWS took over in 1997, removed 15 tonnes of weeds, spent $230 000. $50 000 from Fairfax Foundation. See landscaping plans.
[edit] Lighthouses in NSW
- Last of the Barnet designed lights (Norah Head) built 1903 - average of 1 lighthouse per 34 miles (54 km) along NSW coast. Most of the lighthouses built from 1860 - 1903.
- (Distance to horizon at height 113 m =40 km.)
[edit] Lighthouse Technology
- Pharos of Alexandria - 300 BC
- Parabolic reflector, silvered copper - Hutchinson 1772 (England) - catoptric system
- Smokeless oil lamp - Argand 1782 (France) - hollow circular wick
- Dioptric lens - Fresnel 1822 (France) -very large lens possible. Added reflecting/refracting prisms above and below lens - catadioptric lens
[edit] Geology and Geological History
- Rocks of Triassic age (200 m. yrs) Hawkesbury sandstone overlying Narrabeen shales. Still part of Gondwana..
- Major sea level changes in last Ice Age. Sea level 100 m below present. Coast far out.
- Sea rose 10 000 years ago leaving headlands cut off as islands.
- Subsequent build up of sand spits connect headlands to coast - tied islands.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
