Cape Byron Light

The Cape Byron Light is an active lighthouse at Cape Byron in New South Wales, Australia. The lighthouse is located on the easternmost point of mainland Australia, around three kilometers northeast of the town of Byron Bay and the tower is the brightest lighthouse in Australia with 2,200,000 cd.

History

The tower was built in the style of James Barnet by Charles Assinder Harding, who also built Norah Head Light and Point Perpendicular Light, built Construction began in 1899 and cost £ 10,042, £ 8,000, the apparatus and the lantern and 2600 pounds of road from the central Byron Bay.

It was completed with the construction of a ceremony on November 1901 and a large banquet 30, for which a special railway train visitors from Lismore and Murwillumbah brought, including the prime minister John Lake of New South Wales, who arrived from Sydney on the steamer Victoria. The ship arrived but due to bad weather on until the following day. Therefore, the opening ceremony took place a day later, on December 1, 1901 instead.

Light, light production and light intensity

The Fresnel lens, which is in use today, is still the ersteingebaute that produced Henry Lepaute. The diameter of the lens is 2 meters; it contains 760 prismatic cut glass. The original light was produced by six kerosene lamps, which produced 145,000 per cd. When they were renewed in 1922, reached the new cd burner 500,000. In 1956, the system was electrified and the time mechanism replaced by an electric motor. The lamps used, use 120 volts and have 1000 watts with a total luminosity of 2.2 million cd.

The lighthouse glows red at short intervals and continuous in the northeast, to the Julian Rocks and across the nearby reefs.

Appearance and tourist information

The lighthouse was built from single blocks of stone and painted white. The blocks were knocked out of the Bauuntergrund and mixed with cement, then plastered both inside and outside. This technique ensured high strength of the structure. The lighthouse is located at the Lighthouse Road, east of Byron Bay. The lighthouse and the road are open every day, the parking is free. Throughout the year, will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays guided tours. In the summer, reservations are desirable on Saturdays.

Next to the tower is a lighthouse keeper's house, the white as well and the base is painted blue. There are also two houses for the lighthouse-keeper Assistant there, where tourists can stay.

Since this lighthouse is well known, to visit him more than 500,000 people each year. In the Bay whale watching ( whale watching ) are possible. There is the Whale Research Centre at Southern Cross University.

Responsibilities

The light production is monitored by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the building is managed by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water as part of the Cape Byron State Conservation Area and the Byron Bay Headland Reserve Trust.