Mary Jane Bennett ( Hebden, 1816 – 6 July 1885) was the first official

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

in New Zealand, and the only woman to ever hold the role. Hebden emigrated to New Zealand in 1840 and was soon married to George White Bennett who farmed at

Lowry Bay Days Bay is a residential area in Lower Hutt in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is walled on three sides by steep bush-clad slopes. Most of its level land is occupied by Williams Park and Wellesley College, New Zeal ...

and worked as a clerk in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. They had five children born between 1842 and 1855. In 1852 George took the position of lighthouse keeper 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 ...

. Living conditions at the lighthouse were hard: the house was not weatherproof, wood and water had to be carried from some distance away and winds battered the house. Following the death of her husband who drowned in 1855, she continued to operate the lighthouse. Better housing may have been the reason for her remaining and taking over the lighthouse keeping. In January 1859 a proper lighthouse was built and Bennett was officially appointed as keeper. Pencarrow Lighthouse was the first permanent lighthouse in New Zealand. Bennett was assisted in her duties by William Lyall and performed well in the job. She left in about 1865 and returned to England where she died in 1885. Three of her children George, Francis and William later returned to New Zealand. William became assistant keeper of the lighthouse in 1880. He died in 1929. The story of Bennett's life has inspired three books: a children's book ''Lucy goes to the lighthouse'' by Grant Sheehan and Rosalind Clark, ''Weathered Bones'' by Michele Powles and ''Guiding Lights: Extraordinary Lives of Lighthouse Women'' by Shona Riddell. Upper lighthouse at Pencarrow Head

References

External links

''Lighthouses, daring rescues and an ANZAC tortoise'' on ABC radio.
21 January 2021. Interview with Shona Riddell, author of ''Guiding Lights: Extraordinary Lives of Lighthouse Women''
''New Zealand's first lighthouse turns 150'' on RNZ
4 January 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Mary Jane 1816 births 1885 deaths Women lighthouse keepers New Zealand lighthouse keepers People from Yorkshire British emigrants to New Zealand