SOMES ISLAND LIGHT

Evening Star, Issue 18602, 5 April 1924, Page 2

SOMES ISLAND LIGHT

AUTOMATIC BEACON. Away buck in 1840 a signal station was installed on Somes Island, which, h it was not of much use to mariners making the entrance to Port Nicholson, at least served to guide to the anchorage the sailing vessels which at that time waited for pratique between the island and the Hutt Beach. On Wednesday night (says the Wellington ‘ Post ’) there shone out lor (lie first time from Somes Island the latest and most reliable of lights, tho Aga automatic light, which is rapidly replacing watched lighthouses on tiro Now Zealand coast, except those which ore of necessity reporting stations, and demand liio attention of keepers. It is interesting to trace the history of tho harbor beacons winch have year m and year out and in all weathers pointed out the way to a safe haven to those who use the sea.

From an authentic sketch by Captain W. Mein Smith, R.A., principal surveyor to the Now Zealand Company, it is seen that a signal station was placed on Somes Island between 1840 and 1842, tho keeper of which was said to have been Robert Houghton, although there is no record of his appointment. From 1342 until 1866 there does not appear to have been a light or signal on tho island, but in Fobniary, 1356, a notice appeared in lho ‘ (lar.eite 1 announcing the erection and operation of a lighthouse on tho spot. Ono proposition had been to erect a fight on Cordon Point, between Mahangu Bay and Kanaka Bay wharves, but the commission sot up to inquire into the best snot finally decided,upon Somes Island as the most suitable locality. That light, with a range out to sea of ten miles, was evidently the first to be shown from tho island, and the first keepers wore Messrs William Lyall and Daniel Susan. Colza oil was (he fuel used at that time. Then in 1878 the light was altered to burn paraffin, and with minor changes that right has served its purpose until lha present time. In 1912 the management of the station was transferred from tha Marine Department to tho 'Wellington .Harbor Board, the department undertaking the necessary upkeep and charging the cost to the hoard. Penearrow lighthouse was the first of its kind in Port Nicholson, and the Pomes Island light is the next in point of years. The low level light at Penearrow, (he southern leading beacon commonly called " Blinking Billy,” and the northern leading beacon off Hope Shoal, are till of morn recent construction, their erection being deemed necessary in view of tho increasing number of big ships using the port and the consequent increase m risk to thousands of pounds worth of merchandise ns well as to priceless human lives. The new light incorporates the Dalon valve, the invention of a Swede of that name, who won the Nobel prize with the mechanism. This valve turns the light on and off, and is operated by the light of t*ie sun, and not from the heat given out, as the heat at night varies considerably, and might at times be sufficient to< start the mechanism. There are over 800 lights of similar design on the Alaskan coast, and their sturdiness and reliability have been well tried, so that their adoption by the New Zealand Government and the various harbor boards is founded on a careful study of what they are capable of. The Somes Island light liar, a capacity of forty litres, and will burn acetone gas. The sectors are (ho same as those of the old paraffin light, and sailing directions to mariners remain as before.