Baring Head Lighthouse is a concrete

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

Baring Head Baring Head (, officially gazetted as Baring Head / Ōrua-pouanui) is a headland, located between Wellington Harbour and Palliser Bay at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand. It marks the southern end of Fitzroy Bay. The Barin ...

in the

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is the southernmost regions of New Zealand, region of the North Island of New Zealand. The local government region covers an area of , and ...

of the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

of New Zealand, with an LED beacon powered by mains electricity. It is owned and operated by

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 safet ...

, and can be accessed via walking tracks in the southern area of the East Harbour Regional Park, south of

Wainuiomata Wainuiomata () is a large Commuter town, dormitory suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area in New Zealand. Its population was estimated as being as of with a density of 1,600 people ...

. The lighthouse tower is , but the hilltop elevation gives a focal height of . The light range is . The lighthouse was built to be the main approach light to

Wellington Harbour Wellington Harbour ( ), officially called Wellington Harbour / Port Nicholson, is a large natural harbour on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The harbour entrance is from Cook Strait. Central Wellington is located on parts of ...

, as well as a coastal light for

Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North Island, 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, ...

. Lit on 18 June 1935, it replaced the light at

Pencarrow Head Pencarrow Head, also known as Pencarrow, is a headland in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and the name of the surrounding area, which was derived from Pencarrow, the family home of New Zealand Company director, Sir William Molesworth. The ...

, which was decommissioned later that year. The lighthouse was initially powered by a diesel generator but was converted to mains electricity in 1950. The 1000 W light was fully automated in 1989 and demanned. In February 2005, the original lens was replaced by a flashing

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

beacon visible from up to .

References

External links

* *
Lighthouses of New Zealand
''Maritime New Zealand'' Lighthouses completed in 1935 Lighthouses in New Zealand Buildings and structures in Lower Hutt Cook Strait 1930s architecture in New Zealand Wellington Harbour Transport buildings and structures in the Wellington Region East Harbour Regional Park {{lighthouse-stub

See also

References

External links