Australian Beacon Relit For ILLW
By Sue Clark on Aug 20, 2007 in Other 
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International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend united amateur radio operators with each other, via 380 lighthouses and lightships in 51 countries over the weekend of August 18 and 19, 2007. This annual event is organized by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group (Scotland) and takes place on the third weekend in August. It now coincides with International Lighthouse Day sponsored by the International Association of Lighthouse Keepers, United Kingdom, which endeavors to have as many of the participating lighthouses and lightships open to the public for the Sunday.
The stated objective of this event is to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration, to promote amateur radio and to foster international goodwill. Lighthouse locations from Argentina to Wales participate, and for at least Point Perendicular lighthouse in New South Wales, Australia (pictured above and below), it was a rare event, for the lighthouse has stood dark since 1995, when it was replaced by a solar powered light on a steel tower.
From an article in the Illawarra Mercury:
It was a spectacular light show, made even more so by the gentle mist falling over Jervis Bay on Saturday night. Despite the winter chill and wet weather, the headland at Point Perpendicular was full of picnickers huddled together to see what had once been a common sight along this rugged stretch of the South Coast.
From Friday night until Sunday afternoon, the original lighthouse at Point Perpendicular was switched on again. The light radiating through its intricate crystal lantern had a brightness equivalent to about one million candles, casting seven distinct rotating beams across the bay.
Point Perpendicular has had a long and interesting history. The Cape St. George lighthouse was built nearby and lit in 1860, but shortly after lighting it, it was discovered that due to inadequate supervision by the authorities, it was unable to be seen from the northern approach to Jervis Bay. A new light was ordered in 1896, but first a road had to be built. After the road was done, work on the lighthouse began. The light is believed to be the first in New South Wales to be constructed of concrete blocks, which were cast on the ground, then lifted into place. 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 May 1, 1899, with a first order lens shining out to sea.
By 1983, Point Perpendicular and three other lights were being powered by diesel generators, at a cost of $150,000 AUD ($119,124 USD). To save money, the government converted these stations to solar power. The annual cost of maintaining an automatic solar powered light on a steel tower was estimated to be $13,000AUD. The first conversion was South Solitary Island in 1985, followed by Montague Island in 1987, Green Cape in March 1992 and Point Perpendicular on July 5, 1993.
Shortly after decommissioning 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 was finally extinguished by the last head keeper, John Hampson, after just over 94 years of service. It is now lit only on special occasions, with one of them being the annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. It is sad that a cost saving measure can doom this beautiful lighthouse to darkness, but at least one night a year she shines again.
More information on Point Perpendicular and other Australian lighthouses can be found at Lighthouses of Australia, Inc .
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If you’re in New South Wales, Australia, on Sunday, October 19, get out your running shoes for the very scenic Run For Breast Cancer. The Coordinator for the event wants to see at least five runners or walkers for each breast cancer patient on the North Coast. That translates to 1000 or so participants.
