Cape Brett Lighthouse, Maritime navigation aid in Bay of Islands, New Zealand.
Cape Brett Lighthouse is a white tower standing 11 meters high on the clifftop, serving as a navigation guide for vessels moving through the Bay of Islands. The structure sits on an isolated headland surrounded by water on three sides, making it visible from far distances at sea.
Cape Brett Lighthouse was built in 1909–1910 and first lit on 21 February 1910. It was the last of nine first-order lighthouses erected in New Zealand. The cast-iron tower was made in England, with the lantern designed by Stevenson of Edinburgh and parts supplied by Chance Brothers of Birmingham and Milnes of Edinburgh. It was deactivated on 5 October 1978 and replaced by an automated beacon.
The lighthouse tower was prefabricated in England, with its cast-iron frame made by Judds in Thames and the lantern designed by Stevensons of Edinburgh using parts from Chance Brothers in Birmingham and Milnes in Edinburgh. Guided Department of Conservation tours let visitors see the tower and the one surviving keeper's house of the three built for the keepers.
Access is available via an 8-hour walking trail from Paihia or by water taxi, which takes about 35 minutes across the bay. Visitors should know that the walking route is physically demanding, and water taxi service depends on weather conditions.
The light's 49 km range came from a Fresnel lens mounted on a mercury bath, the first such floating bearing used in a New Zealand lighthouse. The clockwork drive that turned it survives with the tower's equipment largely complete, so the Department of Conservation notes it could be returned to working order with little effort.
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