Amédée lighthouse, Lighthouse on Amédée Island, Nouméa, New Caledonia

Amédée lighthouse is a 56-metre tower of puddled iron painted white, with a slightly wider base, a gallery railing and a glass lantern under a domed roof; narrow vertical windows run down the shaft. It stands on Amédée islet, 24 km from Nouméa, at the Boulari passage between the Aboré and Kwé reefs.

In 1859 Governor Jean-Marie Saisset requested a lighthouse for the Boulari passage. Léonce Reynaud designed a puddled-iron tower with an inner frame independent of the outer shell; the plans were shown at London's 1862 Universal Exhibition. Built by Rigolet in Paris and reassembled at La Villette from July 1862 to June 1864, it was shipped in 1,200 crates weighing 388 tonnes, erected on Amédée by French soldiers and local workers under Stanislas Bertin from January to November 1865, and first lit on 15 November 1865.

The island's post office uses its own postmark, a detail visitors can send home. The lighthouse is also a stop on boat trips from Nouméa aboard the Mary-D Dolphin, and part of the islet is closed to protect the surrounding waters.

A climb of 247 steps leads to the observation platform at the top. From there, visitors can see across the lagoon and watch for passing boats navigating the Boulari reef passage.

The tower was first assembled in Paris between July 1862 and June 1864, near the Rigolet workshops, and became a popular promenade for Parisians. Its 1,200 crates, weighing 388 tonnes, then travelled down the Seine to Le Havre for shipment.