Offer Wadham lighthouse
The Offer Wadham lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, was lit for the first time on October 4, 1858. It was built after many petitions were sent to the government arguing for a light to be put on the island to help guide mariners. This arose especially after the "Spring of the Wadhams" in 1852, when more than 40 sealing vessels were crushed and abandoned in the ice near Offer Wadham Island and several crew members escaped by climbing over cliffs to find shelter.[1]
Owners
The first lighthouse keeper was Thomas Hennessey and his assistant was Edward Reddy. Charles Prowse was appointed keeper in November 1862 until 1901 and his assistants were William Hennessey, William Murphy, Peter Woods, and Robert Wellon. Other lighthouse keepers on the island were:.[2]
- Elias Abbott, 1901–1908
- Stephen Abbott, 1908–1910
- William Pomeroy, 1910–1916
- James Ford Mouland, 1916–1936
Description
The lighthouse is described in the Newfoundland Almanac as a steady, fixed, white 4th order dioptric burning on a circular brick tower at an arc of 360 degrees with a 2 wick concentric lamp. It was 100 feet (30 m) above sea level and could be seen at about 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi).[3]
References
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
- ↑ Roland Abbott, A Brief History of the Offer Wadham Island: the Million Dollar Rock, 1994
- ↑ The Newfoundland Almanac, 1860, 1865, and 1887