Crowdy Head Light

Crowdy Head Light
	Crowdy Head Light, 2008
Location	Crowdy Head; New South Wales; Australia
Coordinates	31°50′36.32″S 152°45′12.79″E / 31.8434222°S 152.7535528°E
Tower
Constructed	1878
Foundation	concrete slab
Construction	limestone
Automated	1928
Height	24 feet (7.3 m)
Shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to one-story service builtding
Markings	white tower and lantern
Power source	mains electricity
Operator	Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Heritage	Australian Department of Environment
Light
Focal height	201 feet (61 m)
Lens	Sealite SL-300 single-tier high intensity beacon
Intensity	28,000 cd
Range	white: 16 nautical miles (30 km); red: 13 nautical miles (24 km)
Characteristic	Fl (2) W 10s.; Fl R (to northeast.)

Crowdy Head Light is an active lighthouse located at Crowdy Head, a headland between Forster and Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. It is registered with the Register of the National Estate.

History

The first station in the area was a pilot station established in 1860 at nearby Harrington, assisting ships navigating the entrance of the Manning River.

The current lighthouse is the last of five lighthouses of similar design designed and built by James Barnet in 1878–80, the other four being Fingal Head Light, Clarence River Light (now demolished), Tacking Point Lighthouse and Richmond River Light. The original light was a fixed white light from a 4th order catadioptric apparatus with an intensity of less than 1,000 cd. It was staffed by one keeper.

In 1928 the apparatus was converted to a carbide lamp (acetylene gas), with an intensity of 1,500 cd. At the same opportunity, the light was automated.

The pilot station was closed in the 1960s. In 1972 the light was converted to mains electricity.

In 2002 the 4th order Fresnel lens was sold on eBay for $20,000, and is now on display at Sea Girt Light in New Jersey.^[3]

In 2021, conversion to an LED light source was completed with the addition of a Sealite SL-300 single tier high intensity beacon, with a range of 16 nautical miles. ^[4]

Structure

The circular tower is capped by an oversailing bluestone platform supported by shaped bluestone corbels. It can be reached by a metal stair from the concrete slab which forms the ground floor and foundation for the buildings. The tower walls of stone bricks taper off from a thickness of 19 inches (480 mm) at the base to 14 inches (360 mm) at the top.

A porch, roofed just above door height, connects the tower to a rectangular annexe, which originally contained a duty room for the keeper and a store for fuel

All the external walls of the structure are cement rendered and painted white. The platform is surmounted by a simple metal domed lantern which encloses the optical apparatus. A handrail at the platform perimeter is of white painted cast iron standards with wrought iron rails.

Site operation

The light is managed by Transport for NSW,^[5] while the site is managed by the New South Wales Department of Lands.

Visiting

The grounds of the lighthouse are open, but the tower is closed.

Notes

^ RNE3496 states 1879, which might be more accurate as it is the last of the five small lighthouses.
^ According to all sources except the RNE3496 which states 62 m.
^ "Sea Girt Lighthouse, New Jersey at Lighthousefriends.com". lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
^ "Crowdy Head Lighthouse". lighthouses.org.au. Lighthouses of Australia Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
^ According to NSW Maritime, though Rowlett says Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

References

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. p. 123.
Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Australia: Northern New South Wales". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 29 August 2010. Listed as "Crookhaven Head".
"The Crowdy Head Lighthouse". Lighthouses of New South Wales. Lighthouses of Australia Inc.
"Crowdy Head Lighthouse (listing RNE3496)". Australia Heritage Places Inventory. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
"Lighthouse Lights – NSW Maritime". maritime.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 3 October 2010.

External links

Media related to Crowdy Head Light at Wikimedia Commons

[1] RNE3496 states 1879, which might be more accurate as it is the last of the five small lighthouses.

[2] According to all sources except the RNE3496 which states 62 m.

[3] "Sea Girt Lighthouse, New Jersey at Lighthousefriends.com". lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved 30 August 2010.

[4] "Crowdy Head Lighthouse". lighthouses.org.au. Lighthouses of Australia Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2024.

[5] According to NSW Maritime, though Rowlett says Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

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v t e Lighthouses of New South Wales and Jervis Bay Territory
North Coast	Fingal Head Cape Byron Richmond River Clarence River North Solitary Island South Solitary Island Smoky Cape Tacking Point Crowdy Head Sugarloaf Point Nelson Head Point Stephens Nobbys Head Norah Head
Outside Sydney Harbour	Barrenjoey Hornby Macquarie Cape Baily
Inside Sydney Harbour	Grotto Point Bradleys Head Fort Denison Robertson Point Parriwi Head Eastern Channel Western Channel Vaucluse Bay – Front Vaucluse Bay – Rear Shark Island
South Coast	Wollongong Head Wollongong Breakwater Kiama Crookhaven Heads Point Perpendicular Cape St George Warden Head Burrewarra Point Montague Island Green Cape
See also List of lighthouses in Australia