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North Reef Light is an active lighthouse located on North Reef, a planar reef,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=AIMS Research - Reef Monitoring )〕 about northeast of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia in the Capricorn and Bunker Group. The lighthouse was constructed on a migratory patch of sand inside a fringing coral reef, which over the years disappeared and reappeared, as sand was washed away and accumulated, and is now a vegetated sandy island. Its construction is unique, having a hollow concrete base that both gives it resistance to the shifting nature of the sandbar and serves as a fresh water tank. As such, it is considered one of the major achievement in Australian lighthouse construction. It is also notable in that due to the harsh conditions, only bachelors were allowed to serve as lighthouse keepers. At it is also the tallest of Queensland's timber framed iron clad lighthouses. ==History== The recommendation to establish a lighthouse on North Reef was made by a select parliamentary committee in 1864. The site was then a small sandbank on a coral reef. The proposal called for a cast iron cylindrical tower, in diameter and tall, which would rest on the coral, penetrating the sand. A hollow base would be formed by pouring concrete into the cylinder, which would also serve as a fresh water tank, and the residence will surround it. Tenders were called in January 1876, and the winning offer was for £7,964 by Walker and Company of Maryborough. Construction was to be completed in by July 1877 but delays, first in approval of the money and then in construction, delayed the completion until November 1878. The base of the tower, in diameter and high, was constructed of bolted cast iron segments. Both the tower and the dwellings were constructed of timber frame, clad in galvanized iron. The original optical apparatus was a second order lens. Conditions at the lighthouse were harsh. The location is remote, the quarters were cramped, and the shifting sands sometimes left the lighthouse surrounded by water. The lighthouse keepers chosen were therefore only single, unmarried men. The light source was upgraded twice, in 1923 and in 1929. In 1977 the light was converted to electricity and it was demanned in January 1978. The final upgrade was on 28 September 1987 when the light was converted to solar power and six solar panels were installed on the roof of the quarters, facing north. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「North Reef Light」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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