Happy Birthday to Pencarrow Lighthouse
By Sue Clark on Jan 6, 2009 in News 
Print This Post
Almost lost amidst the relighting of Barnegat on its birthday, January 1, 2009, is the 150th birthday of Pencarrow Lighthouse in Wellington, New Zealand, on the same day. Inactive since 1935 and replaced by a steel and concrete skeleton on the shore below (picture at left), it nevertheless has been repaired and brought to its former glory, thanks to the work done by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Elizabeth Cox, of the Trust, was kind enough to direct me to the fascinating history and restoration of this lighthouse.
Besides telling the story of how the lighthouse came to be the first in New Zealand, it features the story about the first keeper of the lighthouse, Mary Jane Bennett, the only female keeper in the country’s history. And how, when she returned to Great Britain after retirement, it was felt she was an embarrassment to her family for having been a lighthouse keeper. And how her story was almost lost due to the British sense of propriety. Notwithstanding that fact, one of her sons eventually returned to New Zealand to also become a keeper.
A Celebration and a Lighthouse Family Reunion
This past weekend, Sunday, January 4, the Trust held a rare open house.The tower is normally closed to visitors, but on this occasion it was opened to allow everyone a look inside. Photos below are by Elizabeth Cox of some of the people enjoying the beautiful day.
From Ms. Cox comes this description:
Pencarrow Lighthouse, in New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington, has recently celebrated its 150th birthday. Pencarrow was New Zealand’s first permanent lighthouse, and was lit for the first time on 1 Jan 1859. It was built from cast iron pieces, which were imported from England in 480 parcels, along with an engineer to put them together.
The lighthouse is also well known as it was managed by New Zealand’s first and only female lighthouse keeper, who lived there with her children for 10 years after the death of her husband. The lighthouse is now managed by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
100 people journeyed to the lighthouse on 4 January 2009 to celebrate the anniversary, on a beautiful day. Because the lighthouse is a popular visitor destination, lots of members of the public joined in the celebration when they arrived at the lighthouse and found they had a rare opportunity to see inside.
Further events are planned throughout January. 150 descendants of the first lighthouse keeper, Mary Jane Bennett, will gather at the lighthouse January 9 for a family reunion and to remember their famous ancestor. The following day a large number of people will walk along the long costal access road to the lighthouse, while a yacht race to the lighthouse will be held on the sea next to them.
The anniversary has also been celebrated by a new stamp issue of ‘glow in the dark’ lighthouse stamps.
What a wonderful delight that will be, to have 150 descendants of the first keeper there to celebrate. They’ll be coming from all over the world, but with one common bond…the matriarch of the family holds a special place in New Zealand’s maritime history.
Photo credits:
- Upstairs Downstairs by chris24w. Some rights reserved.
- Pencarrow Celebration photos Copyright ©2009 by Elizabeth Cox. All rights reserved.
Keep up with Lighthouse News. Get articles by 
Email or in a 
Reader.
