|
Farewell Spit Lighthouse
The Farewell Spit Lighthouse is located at the end of New Zealand's longest sand spit in Golden Bay / Mohua, near the northern tip of the South Island. It guides vessels entering Cook Strait from the west and south. The LED rotating beacon flashes white or red, once every 15 seconds. It has a range of . Red is shown to warn approaching vessels of extensive shoaling. Standing tall, the tower needs to be taller than the support structures of most lighthouses built on cliffs or headlands, because the sand foundations it is built upon are almost at sea level. The tower is constructed of an open steel lattice to withstand abrasive sand and salt-laden winds. History The drifting sand dunes of Farewell Spit are low lying and interspersed with fresh water lagoons, with an extensive shoal area on the southern side. The need for a lighthouse to warn mariners was identified in 1856, in the days of early European settlement, in response to a growing number of stranding and wrecks. An ini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farewell Spit
Farewell Spit ( mi, Onetahua) is a narrow sand spit at the northern end of the Golden Bay, South Island of New Zealand. It runs eastwards from Cape Farewell, the island's northernmost point. Farewell Spit is a legally protected Nature Reserve and is designated as a Ramsar wetland site and an East Asian–Australasian Flyway Shorebird Network site. The spit is administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as a seabird and wild life reserve. Apart from a small area at the base of the spit, it is closed to the public except through organised tours. Location Farewell Spit is located about north of Tākaka and from Collingwood. The small settlement of Pūponga stands close to the western (landward) end of the spit. Toponymy The Maori name for the spit is ''Onetahua'', translated as "heaped up sand". Abel Tasman in 1642 was the first European to see the spit, calling it ''Sand Duining Hoeck''. Captain James Cook was the next European visitor in 1770, showing Farewe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Bay / Mohua
Golden Bay / Mohua is a shallow, paraboloid-shaped bay in New Zealand, near the northern tip of the South Island. An arm of the Tasman Sea, the bay lies northwest of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere and Cook Strait. It is protected in the north by Farewell Spit, a 26 km long arm of fine golden sand that is the country's longest sandspit. The Aorere and Tākaka rivers are the major waterways to flow into the bay from the south and the west. It is part of the Tasman Region, one of the territorial authorities of New Zealand. The bay was once a resting area for migrating whales and dolphins such as southern right whales and humpback whales, and pygmy blue whales may be observed off the bay as well. The west and northern regions of the bay are largely unpopulated. Along its southern coast are the towns of Tākaka and Collingwood, and the Abel Tasman National Park. Separation Point, the natural boundary between Golden and Tasman Bays, is in the park. North-eastern par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers , making it the world's 12th-largest island. At low altitude, it has an oceanic climate. The South Island is shaped by the Southern Alps which run along it from north to south. They include New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki / Mount Cook at . The high Kaikōura Ranges lie to the northeast. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the West Coast is famous for its rough coastlines such as Fiordland, a very high proportion of native bush and national parks, and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The main centres are Christchurch and Dunedin. The economy relies on agriculture and fishing, tourism, and general manufacturing and serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cook Strait
Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A H, Ed. (1966''Cook Strait''from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2007. Note: This is the distance between the North Island and Arapaoa Island; some sources give a slightly larger reading of around , that between the North Island and the South Island. and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. Regular ferry services run across the strait between Picton in the Marlborough Sounds and Wellington. The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. In Māori it is named ''Te Moana-o-Raukawa'', which means ''The Sea of Raukawa''. Raukawa is a type of woody shrub native to New Zealand. History Approximately 18,000 years ago during the Last G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papers Past
The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003''). Under the Act, the library's duties include collection, preserving and protecting the collections of the National Library, significant history documents, and collaborating with other libraries in New Zealand and abroad. The library supports schools through its Services to Schools business unit, which has curriculum and advisory branches around New Zealand. The Legal Deposit Office is New Zealand's agency for ISBN and ISSN. The library headquarters is close to the Parliament of New Zealand and the Court of Appeal on the corner of Aitken and Molesworth Streets, Wellington. History Origins The National Library of New Zealand was formed in 1965 when the General Assembly Library ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Balfour (engineer)
James Melville Balfour (2 June 1831 – 19 December 1869) was a Scottish-born New Zealand marine engineer. He is best remembered for the network of lighthouses that he designed. Balfour was a highly energetic man, who despite drowning after only six years in the country, has left an impressive list of projects either designed or constructed by him. He was initially employed by the Otago Provincial Council before his appointment by the Government of New Zealand as the colonial marine engineer. Early life and family Balfour was born in the manse of Colinton Parish Church south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland on 2 June 1831. He was the youngest son of Rev. Lewis Balfour (1777–1860), D.D., who for 37 years was minister for the Colinton parish. The philosopher James Balfour was his father's paternal grandfather, and the physician Robert Whytt was his father's maternal grandfather. His father had married Anne Mackintosh on 24 February 1806. Among his siblings were the physician ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weka
The weka, also known as the Māori hen or woodhen (''Gallirallus australis'') is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is the only extant member of the genus '' Gallirallus''. Four subspecies are recognized but only two (northern/southern) are supported by genetic evidence. The weka are sturdy brown birds, about the size of a chicken. As omnivores, they feed mainly on invertebrates and fruit. Weka usually lay eggs between August and January; both sexes help to incubate. Description Weka are large rails. They are predominantly rich brown mottled with black and grey; the brown shade varies from pale to dark depending on subspecies. The male is the larger sex at in length and in weight. Females measure in length and weigh . The reduced wingspan ranges from . The relatively large, reddish-brown beak is about long, stout and tapered, and used as a weapon. The pointed tail is near-constantly being flicked, a sign of unease characterist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of Conservation (New Zealand)
The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) is provided to advise DOC and its ministers. In addition there are 15 conservation boards for different areas around the country that provide for interaction between DOC and the public. Function Overview The department was formed on 1 April 1987, as one of several reforms of the public service, when the '' Conservation Act 1987'' was passed to integrate some functions of the Department of Lands and Survey, the Forest Service and the Wildlife Service. This act also set out the majority of the department's responsibilities and roles. As a consequence of Conservation Act all Crown land in New Zealand designated for conservation and protection became managed by the Department of Conservation. This is about 30% of New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australasian Gannet
The Australasian gannet (''Morus serrator''), also known as the Australian gannet or tākapu, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. Adults are mostly white, with black flight feathers at the wingtips and lining the trailing edge of the wing. The central tail feathers are also black. The head is tinged buff-yellow, with a pale blue-grey bill edged in black, and blue-rimmed eyes. Young birds have mottled plumage in their first year, dark above and light below. The head is an intermediate mottled grey, with a dark bill. The birds gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years. The species range over water above the continental shelf along the southern and eastern Australian coastline, from Steep Point in Western Australia to Rockhampton, Queensland, as well as the North and South Islands of New Zealand, Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Nesting takes place in colonies along the coastlines of New Zealand, Victoria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maritime New Zealand
Maritime New Zealand (New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority) is a Crown entity and also a state maritime safety authority responsible for protecting the maritime transport sequence and marine environment within New Zealand and maintaining safety and security. They define their vision as: "a maritime environment with minimum deaths, accidents, incidents and pollution as part of an integrated and sustainable transport system”. Maritime New Zealand supports people by providing guidance and advice about Seafarer Certifications as well. History A maritime authority called the Marine Board was originally established in 1862 and controlled by the Customs Department until near the end of the nineteenth century, when it was renamed the Marine Department. In 1907 the Marine Department acquired the 805 ton Royal Navy gun boat HMS ''Sparrow''. This was converted into a training ship and renamed NZS ''Amokura''. Over the next 14 years 527 boys trained in ''Amokura'', 25 of them going o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Characteristic
A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the chart symbol for a lighthouse, lightvessel, buoy or sea mark with a light on it. Different lights use different colours, frequencies and light patterns, so mariners can identify which light they are seeing. Abbreviations While light characteristics can be described in prose, e.g. "Flashing white every three seconds", lists of lights and navigation chart annotations use abbreviations. The abbreviation notation is slightly different from one light list to another, with dots added or removed, but it usually follows a pattern similar to the following (see the chart to the right for examples). * An abbreviation of the type of light, e.g. "Fl." for flashing, "F." for fixed. * The color of the light, e.g. "W" for white, "G" for green, "R" for re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sector Light
A sector light is a man-made pilotage and position fixing aid that consists of strictly delineated horizontal angle light beams to guide water-borne traffic through a safe channel at night in reasonable visibility. Sector lights are most often used for safe passage through shallow or dangerous waters. This may be when leaving or entering harbour. Nautical charts (paper and electronic) give all the required information. Sectors of colored glass (or plastic) are placed in the lanterns of these lights. The light will then show these colors when observed certain bearings. Bearings referring to a sector are given in degrees true, as observed from sea. Though the colors of the light will change, the characteristics will not. The change of color is not abrupt. The transition is made through an arc of uncertainty of 2° or greater. The colors that are used, are conform to the IALA Maritime Buoyage system that is designed by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities: * whit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Golden Bay / Mohua")
.svg "Click for more on -> South Island")
_in_flight%2C_from_above.jpg "Click for more on -> Australasian Gannet")
