Macquarie Lighthouse

The 26 meter high Macquarie Lighthouse was the first and is the longest -working lighthouse in Australia. It is located on Dunbar Head in Vaucluse, a suburb of Sydney at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. At this point there since 1791 first navigational aids for ships and since 1818 a stone lighthouse. The current lighthouse was completed in 1883.

History

1791, a year after reaching the First Fleet, a flagpole was erected in its present location and in 1793 erected a wooden tripod and a fire pit prepared, which could be fired with coal.

1818 the first lighthouse of sandstone on the present site of Francis Greenway was built, an architect who had been convicted of fraudulent bankruptcy in England to death and transported to the former penal colony in Australia. The construction was carried out under the direction of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, after which the tower is named. The soft and prone to weathering locally upcoming Hawkesbury Sandstone did not last long standing and the tower was built in 1878 again 40 meters in front of the original site. The architectural style of the current building is neoclassical.

1883, the current Macquarie Lighthouse was put into operation. It was designed by James Barnet and the present tower is very similar in shape to the original template; however, he was built from steadier material. A Fresnel lens for light convergence is installed in 1933.

Since 1976, the Macquarie Lighthouse is fully automatic, the last employees left the tower in 1989 and he is since 2001 owned by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. 2004 was one of the lighthouse keepers houses were offered at a price of AUS $ 1.95 million.

The lighting system of the lighthouse still works and is operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

The Macquarie Lighthouse was many years out in the sign of Macquarie University, to a Vice Chancellor of the University decided that the university should have a new logo. In 2008, the Watchtower was reinstated as an abstract, timeless image ( abstract, timeless characters).

Gallery

Macquarie Lighthouse at night

Tower Silhoute with sun in back light

Logo Macquarie University until about 2008