Cape Palliser (1897)
Cape Palliser, with lighthouse and houses.
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mätauraga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
Standing on the southern tip of the North Island, Cape Palliser often bears the brunt of the Cook Strait gales. Numerous wreaks had occurred in the area so a lighthouse was proposed and first lit in 1897.
The lighthouse was built on a ledge 78 metres up a bluff, however the keeper's houses were built on a flat area at sea level. This made it necessary for the keepers to climb a steep and treacherous track up to the tower. In 1912 this path was replaced by 258 wooden steps that climb vertically up the cliff. But still oil and later kerosene had to be hauled up the cliff on a railway using only a hand winch.
In 1954 the lighthouse was converted from kerosene to a diesel powered generator. Later in 1967 the station was connected to mains electricity.
On a clear day, looking south-west you can occasionally glimpse the Seaward Kaikoura mountains of the South Island but looking to the south-east from Cape Palliser you can see only the wild, aquamarine-blue ocean stretching all the way to Antarctica – a worthy place for a great cast-iron lighthouse, which was imported from Birmingham in 1896-7 and erected in sections, one on top of the other, hauled up by cast-iron pulleys to the top of a seemingly inaccessible cliff.
There was no road until 1941 and in the preceding years the lighthouse families would have lived very isolated existences.
Stamp Web Sites
http://100megsfree3.com/glaw/lighthouse/
http://www.newzeal.com/theme/LH/lighthouses.htm
DIRECTIONS:
From Wellington drive Hwy 2, then Hwy 53 to Martinborough. From Martinborough take the Lake Ferry Road, just before Lake Ferry turn towards Whangaimoana. From there follow the coast on Cape Palliser Road to the lighthouse.
As I have not traveled this road I can not comment on it's condition but I understand it is gravel in places and there are several creeks to ford.
| Island | North |
| Province | Wairarapa |
| Location | Wairarapa |
| Number | K4000 |
| Date Commissioned | 27 October, 1897 |
| Date Decommissioned | |
| Automated | December, 1986 |
| Latitude | 41° 37' South |
| Longitude | 175° 17' East |
| Elevation Above Sea Level | 78m |
| Height | 18m |
| Character | White light flashes twice every 20 seconds |
| Range | 26 N. miles (48 km) |
| Made | England |
| Construction | Steel sections painted white with red bands. |
| Converted Kerosene To Diesel | 1954 |
| Converted Diesel To Mains Electricity | 1967 |
| Wattage | |
| Present Tower | Original |
| Authority | Owned and operated by Maritime Safety Authority |
| Date Visited |
| Head Keeper | From | To |
| Assistant Keeper (1st) | From | To |
Additional Sources:
a.
b.
Text and photographs. Copyright © 1999-2009 Mark Phillips. All rights reserved.
If anyone has any information on this light please contact me. thekiwimark@msn.com
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