Lighthouses of Australia Inc

Lighthouse profile – Point Perpendicular NSW

by Ian Clifford, NSW Representative, LoA Inc. All photographs by Ian Clifford unless otherwise attributed

Located on the Southern end of the spectacular Beecroft Peninsula on the northern headland at the entrance to Jervis Bay, the Point Perpendicular lighthouse was constructed to replace the incorrectly sighted but elegant Cape St George lighthouse which had operated since June 1860.

It took almost 40 years to correct the original contractors mistake despite the navigational difficulties caused to vessels entering Jervis Bay from the south not having visibility of the light.

Point Perpendicular lighthouse was the first of three similar NSW lights constructed of pre-cast concrete blocks, the other two being Cape Byron, 1901 and Norah Head, 1903. The keeper’s residences at the three lights were also constructed of pre-cast concrete blocks.

Designed by Charles Assinder Harding, Architect of the Harbours and Rivers Branch of the NSW Public Works Department, but bearing the influence of his predecessor James Barnett, Point Perpendicular was the first light in NSW to use this type of construction.

Point Perpendicular Lighthouse

Cape Byron Lighthouse

Norah Head Lighthouse

The tender was advertised on 15 April 1897, and the contract won by Edward H. Kelly of Lane Cove. Before construction of the lighthouse could commence, access to the lighthouse site needed to be established to allow supply of construction materials by sea. Following construction, the road would be used for regular supply access for the operation of the lighthouse.

Early in 1896, a contract was won by George Smith of Tomerong for construction of a roadway from the lighthouse site to Bindijine Beach, or as it was then known, Camp Bay.

The lightstation complex situated on a reserve of 10 acres, included the lighthouse, head keeper's residence, a duplex cottage for the assistant lightkeepers, signal house, flagstaff, stables and outbuildings and was connected by the road to an L-shaped jetty 200 feet long and 12 feet wide, together with a store which were constructed five miles north-west of the lighthouse at Bindijine Beach. The total cost of construction £20,280/17/1.

Under the supervision of Head Keeper William Parker, who transferred from Cape St George, and assistant keepers William Simpson and Arthur Bailey, the Point Perpendicular light was lit for the first time on Monday 1 May 1899.

The circular tower is 44 feet to the top of the walling, with an internal diameter of 11ft 9in. It is divided into three stories by concrete floors, which were paved with small black and white tiles, also used at Cape Byron and Norah Head. Staircases three feet wide were constructed as part of the building, and there is a handrail of two-inch heavy brass tubing.

The light consists of a Chance Bros first order lantern and Chance Bros. 920mm focal radius 9 panel group 3 catadioptric lens. At the time of its commissioning, the optic was mounted on a Chance Bros conical bearing pedestal using clockwork driven by weights to rotate the lens. The original light source consisted of a six-wick trinity burner and twelve gallon lamp.

In 1909, the output was increased to 222,000 candelas. This increase was achieved by conversion to vaporised kerosene using a Chance Bros burner. In 1923, there was another increase to 316,000 candelas by converting to an Australian Ford-Schmidt 55mm burner.

In June 1964, the conversion to 240 volt electric operation was undertaken with work completed on 20 June 1964. The work was undertaken by Mr Ian Cameron, Commonwealth Lighthouse Service Maintenance Supervisor, NSW Maritime Aids, Mr William Warren, Senior Lighthouse Mechanic under the supervision of Mr Andrew Derechtor, Supervising Lighthouse Engineer Commonwealth Lighthouse Service.

On 18th & 19th May this year, I visited Point Perpendicular with Mr Ian Cameron and his wife June, where Ian was able to recount many of the details of the NSW lights from his time (1950-1983) with the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service (CLS). But that’s a story for another day.

Electricity was supplied by two Lister HR3 air-cooled 25KVA Dunlite generators installed in the former stables. The output after conversion to electricity was approximately 1,000,000 candelas with the lens rotating once every 60 sec. The character was group flashing 3 every 20 seconds. With the centre of the lantern standing at 304 feet above sea level, the visibility of the light at sea was 24 miles.

At this time, Point Perpendicular, Smokey Cape (which has an identical lens) and Sugarloaf Point had their original pedestals removed and dual bearing pedestals designed by Mr Andrew Derechtor installed as part of the electrification program. Conversion of the pedestals to ball bearing was one of the major changes made during electrification. This involved the complete dismantling and reassembly of the lens to allow installation of the new pedestal and removed a major piece of the original equipment integral to the Chance Bros design of the apparatus.

To date, no major maintenance has ever been required on the pedestals, despite the automated stations revolving 24hrs a day. A truly great design!

The Point Perpendicular electrical equipment remains largely unchanged since its installation. The light source consists of a single 110v 1,000-watt tungsten halogen dual evaporated lamp.

With electrification the number of keepers was reduced from three to two. This was possible as the removal of clockwork lens drives and the installation of electric motors and lamp meant that continuous watches were no longer required at night. The need to hand pump the vaporised kerosene burners and wind up the weights at approximately thirty-minute intervals was eliminated. Electrical installations also included automatic alarms, which sounded bells in the keeper’s residences if the lens stopped rotating or the lamp failed.

Smokey Cape and Sugarloaf Point have since been modified for automatic operation with the installation of RP3 CLS designed dual drive motors and dual automatic lamp changers accommodating 110v 1,000-watt tungsten halogen dual evaporated lamps operated by daylight sensors. This has allowed complete automation with the removal of the remaining keepers.

In NSW, four main lights required diesel generators to supply electricity due to the distance from the nearest town supply. These were South Solitary Island, Point Perpendicular, Montague Island and Green Cape. In 1983, the Commonwealth Government calculated a cost of approx $150,000 a year to run a manned lighthouse like Green Cape.

The solution to achieve automation at these stations was to convert the operation of the lights to solar power. The first conversion was South Solitary Island in 1985 (demanned in 1975) followed by Montague Island in 1987, Green Cape on 17 March 1992 and Point Perpendicular on 5 July 1993.

The annual cost of maintaining an automatic solar powered light on a steel tower is approx $13,000. This was the choice for automation at Point Perpendicular and Green Cape.

Shortly after commissioning a failure of the solar light occurred. Operation reverted to the old light for approximately three weeks until repair of the solar light was complete and the old light finally extinguished by the last head keeper John Hampson after just over 94 years of service.

The lighthouse complex was then handed over to the Department of Defence as it adjoins the Royal Australian Navy firing range, which encompasses a major section of the Beecroft Peninsula.

Because of the excellent condition of the light mechanism and the co-operation of the Department of Defence and AMSA, the old light has been operated in place of the solar light on two occasions since being decommissioned – 16 October 1999 from dusk until 11pm in conjunction with the Currarong Seaside Festival to mark the light’s 100th year, and from dusk to dawn on 20-21 August 2005 to celebrate International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend (ILLW).

It is planned to operate the old light again this year on 19 August to mark ILLW 2006.

The three bullseyes clustered together are an unmistakeable signature of a group flashing light. When rotating, the lens would send out three flashes every twenty seconds.

Ian inspects the lens for dust  accumulated since the lantern was last lit for its Centenary in 1999, readying it for relighting for International Lighthouse & Lightships Weekend 2005. Photo: Garry Searle

The moon rises behind the lit original tower, whilst the new lattice tower remains in darkness during ILLW 2005.

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