Boulder Bank Lighthouse
Boulder Bank Lighthouse is a decommissioned 19th century lighthouse[1] located near the Port Nelson end of the Boulder Bank. It was New Zealand's second permanent lighthouse.[2]
The lighthouse in 2004 | |
Boulder Bank Lighthouse | |
Location | Boulder Bank, Nelson Region, Nelson City Council, Nelson, New Zealand |
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Coordinates | 41°15′17.3″S 173°15′54.7″E |
Automated | 1915 |
Deactivated | 1982 |
Tower height | 18 metre |
Heritage | NZHPT Category I listing |
Prior to its construction, the Nelson harbour entrance, with its four-metre tidal range and narrow curved channel, was a trap to unwary ship's captains.[3] The octagonal cast-iron tower was manufactured in sections by Stothert & Pitt an engineering firm from Bath, England in 1859 at a cost of £2,824 (equivalent to £284,957 as of 2019).[4] It was then shipped to New Zealand on board the Glenshee, and was erected in 1862.[5]
It is registered with Heritage New Zealand as a category I structure with registration number 41.[5]
The lighthouse was lit for 120 years, from 1862 until 1982. It was given a fresh coat of white paint in October 2018.[6] Its perch on the natural breakwater makes it popular with tourists.[2] Today, it stands alone, but was not always so. When it was manned by lighthouse keepers, a number of homes, other buildings and radio mast clustered around its base.[3]
References
- Phillips, Mark (2005). "New Zealand Lighthouses". Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2007.
- Jones, Frederick Nelson; Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Nelson lighthouse". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- "Nelson Lighthouses, in Nelson Historical Society Journal, Volume 2, Issue 5, November 1971". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- "Boulder Bank Lighthouse". Heritage New Zealand registry of historic places. 23 June 1983. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- "Port Nelson lighthouse gets a new lick of paint". Nelson Mail. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
External links
- Nelson Boulder Bank Light in Lighthouse Digest's Lighthouse Explorer Database