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Point Stephens Light is an active lighthouse located on Point Stephens, a point on an unnamed headland at the east of Fingal Bay, south of the entrance of Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia. It serves in assisting vessels entering Port Stephens. It is considered an endangered lighthouse due to remote location and old age. Proposed in 1857, the lighthouse was built in 1862. Designed by Alexander Dawson, the New South Wales Government Architect at that time, both the lighthouse's flared base and the keeper's cottages combined terrace are unique architectural features for the period. The light source used was originally kerosene lamps, which upgraded in 1912 to a Dalén light, upgraded again to electric light in 1960, automated in 1973, and finally converted to solar power in 1990. In 1991 the last caretaker withdrew from the premises and very soon after the keeper's cottages were vandalised and burned. The tower is designed in the form of a Doric column. It is divided into four stories with a spiral stairway, and topped by a gallery carrying the lantern. The keeper's cottages are three one story cottages, sharing a roof. Other structures which still stand at the location are a circa 1930 privy and workshop built in the 1950s. The lighthouse is managed as part of the Tomaree National Park. Access to the lighthouse is difficult, either through a narrow spit of sand at low tide or by boat. ==History== As early as 1857, the need for a lighthouse on Point Stephens was identified, due to the proximity to the entrance of Port Stephens, and the dangers of the local coastline to ships. Another reason was that mariners were mistaking the entrance to Fingal Bay for that of Port Stephens. At least twenty four vessels are known to have been wrecked in the area. the most serious being the ''Dove'' in 1828 with the loss of seven lives, and the ''Pandora'' in 1836 with five lives. Another notable wreck was the ''Florence Irving'' in 1877. The lighthouse was finally built in 1862 and first lit officially on 1 May 1862. It was designed by Alexander Dawson, the New South Wales Government Architect at that time, with a flared base and an external stairwell, an unusual feature for lighthouses in the time and area. The lighthouse keepers' cottages were also unique, built in Victorian Gothic style, with both the principal keeper and the two assistants sharing the same roof and a combined terrace. The original apparatus was a H Wilkins & Co. catadioptric. The light source was twelve kerosene lamps with a parabolic reflector for each lamp, on a revolving iron frame, in four groups of three. Two groups were white and two groups were red, resulting in a light characteristic of an alternating red and white, with intensities of 500 cd and 200 cd, respectively. It was originally manned by three keepers. In 1901 the keeper's quarters went through major repairs, replacing the original slate tiles with terracotta ones. This was followed with the replacement of the steps handrail in 1903. A 1903 report criticised the light, saying that the red flashes were only visible for half the distance of the white ones, confusing navigators. This led to a recommendation to remove the red shades, resulting in a new characteristic of one white flash every minute, and later to upgrade the light to a quick group flashing dioptric light. Another report in 1912 stated that the station was in good condition, but criticised the low power of the light, and recommended withdrawing two of the keepers. However, all of these recommendations were not acted upon until 1 July 1922, when the apparatus was upgraded to a revolving Dalén light with an intensity of 20,000 cd, and the manning reduced to two keepers. In 1932 the original gallery handrails, also supplied by H Wilkins & Co., were replaced with steel gas pipe and mild steel rods. In 1960 the lighthouse was electrified and connected to the mains electricity through a submarine power cable, and a backup diesel generator was installed in the basement of the tower. In March 1973 the lantern was replaced with a smaller diameter fiberglass lantern (NAL-1 type) and a PRB-21 fully automated hexagonal lamp array with a rotating pedestal was installed. The lower part of the original H Wilkins & Co. lantern was retained, together with the 1932 railings. As the tower was now fully automated, the keepers were withdrawn, and the keeper's quarters were no longer needed for the operation of the light. All logs, drawings and furniture were therefore burned as surplus by the Department of Transport's employees, and the buildings were set ready for demolition. However, a last minutes campaign by one of the last keepers and by locals was successful, and the buildings were therefore leased to the National Trust of Australia (NSW), which was responsible for its conservation, and a caretaker in turn leased them from the National Trust. In 1990,〔According to , and . says 1989.〕 following a 1989 failure of the submarine cable and problems with the diesel generator, the light was converted to solar power with battery storage. The caretaker stayed in the premises until March 1991, when lease arrangement difficulties and the previous failure of the mains forced the caretaker's withdrawal. It only took until September 1991 for vandals to destroy the keepers' cottages by fire. In 1992 the Australian Construction Services cleared the site and stabilised some of the building elements, and a security fence was installed. In 1998 management of the Tomaree National Park, in which the lighthouse is located, was transferred to the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the tower received some long due restoration, which completed in October 1998. At a cost of $85,000 AUD the walls were cleaned and covered with a special waterproof membrane system, the cast steel staircase refitted and the lantern room resealed for waterproofing. The current light source is a 12 Volt 55 Watt quartz halogen lamp. It revolves once every 30 seconds, showing a characteristic of four white flashes every 30 seconds (Fl.(4)W. 30s).〔 It has a range of and an intensity of 40,700 candelas. 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「Point Stephens Light」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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