Puysegur Point Lighthouse

Puysegur Point Lighthouse

Location	Puysegur Point, Southland Region, Southland District, New Zealand
Coordinates	46°09′22″S 166°36′34″E
Tower
Constructed	January 1943
Construction	cast iron
Automated	1990
Height	5 m (16 ft)
Shape	octagon
Power source	solar power
Light
First lit	January 1943
Focal height	45 m (148 ft)
Lens	second order Fresnel lens
Light source	rotating LED beacon
Range	19 nmi (35 km; 22 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 12s
Original lighthouse
Constructed	1878
Construction	wood
Height	40 ft (12 m)
First lit	1 March 1879
Focal height	180 ft (55 m)
Lens	first order Fresnel lens
Characteristic	Fl W 10s

The Puysegur Point Lighthouse is located on a remote headland overlooking the Tasman Sea at the southwest corner of New Zealand's South Island. The Puysegur Point headland is near the entrance to Rakituma / Preservation Inlet in Fiordland National Park. The lighthouse marks the northwest point of the entrance to Foveaux Strait, separating Stewart Island from the South Island.^[1] Puysegur Point is one of the most isolated and inaccessible lighthouses in New Zealand.

The original wooden lighthouse tower was destroyed in an arson attack on 8 February 1942. A replacement lighthouse was constructed using equipment that had recently become surplus from the Godley Head and Cape Foulwind lighthouses, and a new light was commissioned in January 1943.

Background

Surveys of possible sites for lighthouses around Foveaux Strait were undertaken in 1874 from the vessel PS Luna.^[2] Sites visited included Cape Puysegur, Centre Island, Rugged Island, Green Islands, and Cape Windsor.^[3][4] Puysegur Point was identified as a potentially suitable site because of the elevation, the visibility from vessels en route to Otago or Canterbury from the west, and the accessibility.^[5][6]

The first lighthouse

Lighthouse equipment for Puysegur Point was ordered in February 1875 as part of a larger contract awarded by the Commissioner of Customs for the supply of apparatus and lanterns for six lighthouses around the New Zealand coast.^[7] Site works began that same year in levelling sites for houses, and for the construction of a 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) road to the location of the lighthouse from the landing point at Otago Retreat in Preservation Inlet.^[7][8] The Otago Retreat landing point had been previously established by prospectors exploring local coal deposits.^[9]

Land was formally reserved for the lighthouse late in 1875.^[10] The estimated cost of constructing the lighthouse was reported as £8,500.^[11] In December 1876, the Marine Office called for tenders for the construction of a lighthouse, dwellings and other buildings.^[12] Materials for the construction were brought ashore at the landing point at Otago Retreat.^[13] The main site construction works were completed by 1878.^[14] In the financial year 1877–78, the Marine Department spent £3,418 on works at Puysegur Point.^[15]

The tower was of wooden construction 40 feet (12 m) high, painted white. The lighthouse was fitted with a first order lens and the light, flashing every 10 seconds, was first shown on 1 March 1879. The focal height was 180 feet (55 m) above sea level, with a range of 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi).^[16]

The tower was found to sway in the extreme winds often experienced at Puysegur Point. In 1886, the tower was strengthened with the addition of four guy-wires, fixed to ground anchors.^[17]

The Puysegur Point light was upgraded to the Chance incandescent system in 1909, providing an improved light with reduced consumption of oil.^[18]

Communications

Despite being built on the mainland, rather than an offshore island, Puysegur Point is one of the most isolated and inaccessible lighthouse locations in New Zealand.^[17]

In 1896, surveys began for a telegraph line route from Puysegur Point to Orepuki in Southland, to provide communications from the site.^[19] Following the stranding of the vessel Ruapehu on Farewell Spit in 1897, commentators noted that several lighthouses around the coast, including Puysegur Point, did not have telegraph communications for promptly summoning assistance for vessels in distress.^[20] However, in 1899, homing pigeons were still being used to carry messages from Puysegur Point back to Invercargill.^[21]

A government decision to provide telegraph communications with the lighthouse was finally made in 1908.^[22] Telegraph communications from the site were used to summon assistance in 1910, following the wreck of the Waikare in Dusky Sound.^[23] However, the telegraph line proved difficult to maintain, and by the 1920's it was replaced by a radio-telephone system.^[17]

The lighthouse received stores and mail in monthly supply visits from government steamers, including the Stella in 1886,^[24] the Invercargill in 1895,^[25] and the GSS Wairua in the 1940s.^[26] Lighthouse keepers complained about the lack of a regular mail service. There was no reliable and regular mail service provided until 1941 when a two-weekly service from Riverton was commenced, subject to weather conditions.^[17]

Destruction by arson

On Sunday 8 February 1942, the lighthouse was burned down by a man who had been prospecting on nearby Coal Island for six months, and who visited the lighthouse periodically to pick up stores left for him by the lighthouse supply vessel. It was subsequently reported that the man was infuriated by the flashing light from the lighthouse disturbing his sleep.^[27] He assaulted the lighthouse keeper on duty, knocking him unconscious, smashed the radio telephone and set fire to the lighthouse. After the assault and arson, he stole a rifle and ammunition and returned to Coal Island, but became marooned there when other lighthouse keepers took his boat from the island.^[27] The lighthouse keepers were able to restore radio communications and summoned help from Bluff. Police arrived and arrested the man the following day.^[28] The man was subsequently detained in a mental institution.^[29]

Replacement lighthouse

A replacement lighthouse at Puysegur Point was established in January 1943. It was constructed on a short concrete foundation and used a lantern room that was previously in service at the Godley Head lighthouse, but had become surplus following a relocation of that lighthouse in 1942.^[30] Lenses previously installed in the lighthouse at Cape Foulwind were re-used and put into service.^[27][31]

A radio beacon was installed at Puysegur Point in 1947 as an additional navigation aid.^[32]

In August 1980, the Puysegur Point lighthouse was replaced with two automatic lights located at Windsor Point, to the southeast of Puysegur Point, and Cape Providence at the northern entrance to Chalky Inlet.^[31] However, in 1987 the Windsor Point light was shut down, and the Puysegur Point light was re-established.

The Puysegur Point lighthouse was equipped with a solar power supply in 1989, and permanent lighthouse keepers left the site for the last time.^[27]

Incidents

• In September 1877, two carpenters engaged in construction work at Puysegur Point died while attempting to row across to Coal Island. They had observed what they thought was smoke coming from the island, and assumed this was a sign of people who had been ship-wrecked. The two men set off in strong winds and heavy seas. Their boat was eventually located washed up on an island, but the men's bodies were never found.^[33]
• On 28 November 1898, the lighthouse was struck by lightning but suffered only minor damage.^[34]
• In January 1910, news of the wreck of the vessel Waikare in Dusky Sound was sent to Puysegur Point Lighthouse over 30 miles away so that help could summoned.^{[35] [36]}
• In July 1934, the radio receiver at the lighthouse was damaged beyond repair in a lightning strike.^[37]
• On 8 February 1942, the original wooden tower was destroyed by fire in an arson attack.^[28]
• In June 1942, heavy iron girders intended for construction work on the replacement Puysegur Point lighthouse were lost when the vessel carrying them was wrecked.^[38]
• On 23 November 1959, winds of hurricane strength up to 167 miles per hour (269 km/h) caused damage to a boathouse, a coal hut and a radio transmitter building at Puysegur Point.^[39] Extreme winds were also recorded on 22 December 1960, with gusts over 120 miles per hour (190 km/h).^[40]

Depiction on postage stamps

The Puysegur Point Lighthouse was featured on a postage stamp as part of the commemoration of the centenary of the New Zealand Government Life Insurance Office in 1969. It was initially issued in 1969 as a 2½ cent stamp, but was overprinted and re-issued as a 25 cent stamp in 1978.^[41]

References

1. Alexander George Findlay (1879). A Description and List of the Lighthouses of the World (19 ed.). p. 156 – via University of Michigan.
2. "A trip to Stewart's Island and the West Coast". Otago Daily Times. 18 March 1874. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
3. "The cruise of the Luna". New Zealand Mail. 14 March 1874. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
4. "New Zealand coast lights". Wellington Independent. 7 April 1874. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
5. "The trip of the Luna". Otago Daily Times. 16 March 1874. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
6. "Untitled". New Zealand Times. 28 August 1874. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
7. "New lighthouses on the New Zealand coast". New Zealand Times. 13 March 1875. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
8. "The new coast lights". Grey River Argus. 24 August 1875. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
9. "Foveaux Strait". Otago Witness. 8 February 1873. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
10. "Wellington". Wanganui Chronicle. 18 September 1875. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
11. "Untitled". Southland Times. 18 August 1875. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
12. "New Zealand lighthouses - Puysegur Point". Southland Times. 11 December 1876. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
13. "The Stella's mission". North Otago Times. 11 April 1877. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
14. "Lyttelton". Star (Christchurch). 7 May 1878. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
15. "Marine Department". New Zealand Times. 12 April 1879. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
16. "Notice to Mariners - Exhibition of flashing white light on Puysegur Point - south- western extremity of the Middle Island, New Zealand". Grey River Argus. 8 February 1879. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
17. Bain, Angela (May 2010). Lighthouses of Foveaux Strait - a history (PDF). Department of Conservation. ISBN 978-0-478-14765-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
18. "Lighthouse improvements". Press. 26 January 1909. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
19. "Interprovincial". Star (Christchurch). 25 February 1896. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
20. "The stranding of the Ruapehu". Star (Christchurch). 6 January 1897. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
21. "The Perthshire still missing". New Zealand Times. 10 May 1899. Retrieved 25 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
22. "Lighthouse communications". New Zealand Herald. 15 January 1908. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
23. "The Waikare". Manawatu Herald. 8 January 1910. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
24. "Vessels in port". Grey River Argus. 7 January 1886. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
25. "A fatal accident". Oamaru Mail. 27 April 1895. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
26. "Stewart Island steamer to provide more comfort for tourists". Evening Star. 18 June 1947. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
27. Weaver, Georgia (7 February 2022). "The lighthouse that kept Southland man Lance Thomas awake". Stuff. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
28. "Keeper assailed - Lighthouse set on fire - Puysegur sensation". Evening Star. 10 February 1942. Retrieved 28 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
29. "Puysegur arrest". Waikato Times. 12 February 1942. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
30. "The Lighthouse". Godley Head Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
31. "Puysegur Point lighthouse - Maritime NZ". www.maritimenz.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
32. "Navigation aids". Press. 4 November 1947. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
33. "A sad tale". Evening Star. 29 September 1877. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Papers Past.
34. "Struck by lightning". Star (Christchurch). 22 December 1898. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
35. "Wreck of the Waikare - Dusky Sound disaster". Ashburton Guardian. 4 January 1950. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
36. "A Waikare episode - a hazardous feat". Otago Daily Times. 11 January 1910. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
37. "Damaged by lightning". Evening Post. 17 July 1934. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
38. "Wrecked scow breaking up". Evening Post. 8 June 1942. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
39. "Hurricane in south - winds reach 167 m.p.h." Press. 24 November 1959. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
40. "Gale batters lighthouse". Press. 23 December 1960. Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Papers Past.
41. "1969 Lighthouses - Centenary of the New Zealand Government Life Insurance Office". stampsnz.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.

External links

Media related to Puysegur Point Lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons

• Photo of lighthouse and keepers dwellings c 1930 at National Library of New Zealand
• Lighthouses of Foveaux Strait at Department of Conservation
• Puysegur Point - Furthest Frontier at YouTube