Nelson Head Light

Nelson Head Light, also known as Nelson Head Inner Light, is an inactive, unusual lighthouse on Nelson Head, a headland northeast of the town of Nelson Bay, New South Wales, Australia, near Halifax Park, on the southern shore of Port Stephens. The light guided ships into the port. Unlike other lighthouses, the Nelson Head Light has no tower, but was shown through the window of the lantern room, and later mounted outside.

Nelson Head Light
Nelson Head Light, 2008
LocationNelson Head, Nelson Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates32°42′37″S 152°09′41″E
Tower
Constructed1872 (first)
Automated1984 Edit this on Wikidata
Height10 ft (3.0 m) Edit this on Wikidata
Shapeone-story building and no tower[1]
Markingsyellow (building) Edit this on Wikidata
OperatorMarine Rescue NSW Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit1876 (current)
Deactivated2003 Edit this on Wikidata
Focal height128 ft (39 m) Edit this on Wikidata
CharacteristicOc WR Edit this on Wikidata

History

The station was established in 1872 as four kerosene lamps shown from a wooden tower.

Nelson Head Light, 1902

The current cottage was built three years later, and the light was first shown from it in 1876. The light was installed in an octagonal lantern room attached to the house, and shown through a 3 metres (9.8 ft) window. The house was occupied by 14 successive resident keepers, and the Maritime Service Board, until 1985.

The light was electrified in 1946, and automated in 1984. Since 1986, the house has been preserved and maintained by the Nelson Head Lighthouse and Rescue Station Trust. In 1990, the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol was appointed as trustee. The house is now managed by Marine Rescue NSW, under the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, and serves as a maritime museum.

In 1995 the light was replaced with a solar powered lantern which was attached outside the previous lantern room. In early 2003 the light was deemed unnecessary, and it was shut down.

Visiting

The house is accessible by road from Nelson Bay and is open daily to visitors.

See also

References and notes
  1. List of Lights, Pub. 111: The West Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. and Hawaii), Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the Islands of the North and South Pacific Oceans (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2009.
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