Cape Campbell Lighthouse

Cape Campbell Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Cape Campbell in the Marlborough region on the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the south coast near the entrance to Cook Strait. The tower was named after the cape on which it stands, this in turn was named by James Cook in honor of Vice Admiral John Campbell.

In the years 1845 and 1947, came into the surrounding coastal area to at least 18 shipwrecks, including the sinking of originating from New Bedford whaler Alexander in 1858, in which a crew member died.

First Tower

James Balfour, since 1966, marine engineer and steamboat inspector of the lighthouse operator Marine Department designed about 10 years later for a tower which was then chosen as the site chap, but died in a boating accident before he could be erected.

The first tower was built in 1869 as a wooden structure and went on 1 August 1870 in operation. The tower with an optical second order was originally lit with an oil burner.

The first lighthouse keeper, William Hendle, previously worked on the tower to Mana Iceland. From 1872 to 1878 he worked on the Pencarrow Head Lighthouse, and then returned. He died on March 30, 1881 at the age of 50 years in the lamp house of the lighthouse.

Despite the tower it was launched in 1871 to a loss of train running between Lyttelton and Havelock ship Rifleman, which killed all crew members.

The tower proved to be untenable. Although he was already reinforced two years after the construction, he proved in 1898 as so dilapidated that a new building was approved.

Second Tower

The cast-iron replacement building was made in England in the Thames Ironworks ( Judd Engineering ) and decomposed transported to New Zealand. The new tower was commissioned in October 1905 in operation and canceled the old tower in the same year; by him only the foundations and the access stairs are preserved.

The new tower was given an unusual ring patterns in New Zealand to get noticed better from the environment. The other two towers as designed in New Zealand are Cape Palliser Lighthouse and Dog Iceland Lighthouse.

In 1897 the first post office was set up in a New Zealand lighthouse lighthouse keeper in the house.

In July 1938, the oil burner is replaced by a 1000 - W lamp that is powered from a diesel generator. In the 1960s, a connection was created to the power grid.

With the automation of the tower in 1986, the last lighthouse keeper left the tower. Since then, the tower from the seat of Maritime New Zealand is remotely controlled in Wellington.

In November 2003, was rebuilt in optics. It was built in a rotating beacon with 50 W halogen lamp. This is supplied with mains voltage, batteries serve as a backup power supply.