12/30/2023 0 Comments Lighthouse keeper duties![]() ![]() The rotation gear, lamp and power supply all have standby units that are automatically activated if there is a failure. ![]() The computerised active control system enables our lighthouse engineers to check any faults via computer, and to troubleshoot most problems remotely. The main lights and beacons around New Zealand are now monitored remotely in Wellington by Maritime New Zealand. Remote monitoring of lighthouses and beacons Some 70 lights are now generated by solar power. This sensor sends 12 volts of power to the lighthouse, either from the mains electricity system, diesel generator or by solar power. The lights are automatically switched on by a photoelectric daylight sensor. Most lenses are made up of a number of sections that magnify the bulb light into beams. In the 1950s, all lighthouses in New Zealand were converted to electricity, accelerating the move to automatic lights.Ī typical New Zealand lighthouse has a lens that revolves around a 1000-watt bulb. Electrification and the move to automation Most of these kerosene-fuelled lamps lasted until around the 1950s, when the lighthouses were gradually all converted to electricity. They provided economy with a more brilliant light and with no wick trimming required at all. In the 1900s, incandescent kerosene burners were introduced. The new lights floated on a bed of mercury rather than on metal rollers, allowing easier and faster revolutions. In the late 1880s a new type of lantern was invented. This restricted the size of the lantern, reducing the power and speed of the light. The average lens on the early lights weighed several tons, requiring a strong mechanism to keep the system of wheels or ball-bearings moving. It was a forerunner of today’s electronically driven revolving lenses. The light used 16 small oil lamps, each with its own lens. In 1865 the first revolving light was installed at Dog Island lighthouse. Revolving light – forerunner to electronically driven revolving lenses If the light stopped revolving it could cause as much confusion as if the light was out altogether. One of the keeper’s most important jobs was to wind up this mechanism. The mechanism was run by weights that were suspended down the tower shaft. This gave the effect of a flashing light. ![]() Lights which had a lens that revolved round a single lamp by means of a clockwork mechanism replaced the fixed lights. ![]() These early lamps had a long wick which required constant trimming throughout the night, for the light to burn bright and clear. Colza oil was later replaced by cheaper paraffin oil. The first lights were fuelled by colza oil, a derivative of the rape plant. Because of this they were easily confused with other lights along the shoreline, and were eventually phased out. The first locally-built lighthouses had fixed lights which did not flash. This was also the only lighthouse in New Zealand to ever have a woman as lighthouse keeper. The oldest lighthouse in New Zealandīuilt in 1858, Pencarrow Head lighthouse, near Wellington, is the oldest lighthouse in New Zealand. With technological advancements, the lighthouse keeper has been replaced by fully automated computer-monitored lighthouses. New Zealand’s first lighthouse was built in 1858. Lighthouse keepers - their work and family life History of lighthouses in New Zealand
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