Farewell Spit
Lighthouse overview
Farewell Spit Lighthouse is located at the end of Farewell Spit in Golden Bay, near the northern tip of the South Island. Farewell Spit Lighthouse was converted to solar power in 2019 and mains power to the station was disconnected.
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Lighthouse feature: |
Details |
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Location: |
latitude 40°33’ south, longitude 173°00’ east |
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Elevation: |
30 metres above sea level |
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Construction: |
steel tower |
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Tower height: |
27 metres |
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Light configuration: |
rotating LED beacon |
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Light flash character: |
white light with red sectors flashing once every 15 seconds |
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Power source: |
batteries charged by solar panels |
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Range: |
19 nautical miles (35 kilometres) |
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Date light first lit: |
1870 |
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Automated: |
1984 |
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Demanned: |
1984 |
Access to Farewell Spit Lighthouse
Farewell Spit is now a wildlife sanctuary administered by the Department of Conservation.
Public access is restricted to people visiting as part of a tour.
History of Farewell Spit Lighthouse
Before the lighthouse was built, many ships had been wrecked on the spit, so it was feared by mariners.
Construction of the lighthouse at the end of the spit began in 1869. Because the ground was almost at sea level, the tower needed to be taller than those built on cliffs or headlands, so seafarers could see it clearly.
By 1891, the hardwood used for the tower was decaying because of the weather and abrasive sand, so it was replaced with a steel latticework structure. The new lighthouse was ready in 1897.
Building lighthouses was never easy and sandy Farewell Spit created unique challenges. The lighthouse stood on a very windy beach. One night, stormy weather whipped up the sand and completely covered a pile of bricks. The bricks were never found, and a new lot had to be shipped to the lighthouse.
Operation of the light
Farewell Spit was converted from oil to diesel-generated electricity in the 1930s. It was connected to mains electricity in the 1960s.
The station was automated in 1984 and the last keepers left that year.
The original light was replaced in September 1999 with a modern rotation beacon, illuminated by a 50-watt tungsten halogen bulb. The original light can be seen in the hut at the base of the tower.
In 2018, Maritime NZ upgraded the light to a modern rotating beacon powered by 12-volt batteries (charged by solar power).
Life at Farewell Spit Lighthouse
Farewell Spit was not a popular site among keepers because it was bare of vegetation and sand was everywhere. Keepers had a never-ending job of shovelling sand away from their cottages.
Early attempts to grow vegetation were unsuccessful. Just before the turn of the century, a keeper arranged for loads of soil to be brought to the lighthouse with the mail. He planted a windbreak of macrocarpa pines to protect the lighthouse from the sand. As the pines grew, the windbreak became a well-known landmark for passing ships.
Keepers were told the diesel-generated electricity installed in the 1930s was strictly for the lighthouse, not domestic use. In 1957, the generators were finally allowed to be used one day a week for washing and to run the radio for the children’s correspondence school.
A year later, it was felt this privilege was being abused. Keepers were reminded not to leave the generators running to use the electric jug and not to do extra washing while the light was operating before sunrise. Once the light was connected to mains electricity, access to electricity for domestic use stopped being a problem.