MANUKAU  HEADS LIGHTHOUSE

Opening 23 September 2006  

 

Although the day dawned foggy with poor visibility it did not alter the enthusiasm of those attending the opening.

We all drove in our cars to the lookout station, then up the hill in busses or four wheel drive vehicles to the lighthouse, as the road had not been properly formed then.

 

While we were waiting for the Prime Minister to arrive we were allowed to view the Lighthouse inside. It is an exact replica of the previous one built.

In 1986 the lighthouse was abandoned and left to the elements and an occasional vandalism . This was of great remorse to Betsy Robinson, she and volunteers dismantled the lamp dome (for storage on her family's farm)

And dragged the concrete base to safety inland.

That group became the nucleus of the Awhitu Historic Society which in 1999 approached  the Waiuku Museum for assistance in the creation of an appropriate memorial to the lighthouse and its keepers, using some of the equipment in storage. The new Lighthouse is the result of that request.

 

And what a wonderful memorial it is, with a wonderful glimpse into the past. Though constructed of modern materials it is faithful to the 1847 plans and incorporates the light dome and lenses, each prism weighs 25 kilograms.