I spent a gorgeous morning at Norah Head Lighthouse before making my way down NSW. Like others, this lighthouse has quite a history. It was built in 1903 to protect ships traveling between Sydney and Newcastle.
The lighthouse was built at the site except for the lantern, which was sent out from the UK bit by bit. It opened on November 15, 1903. Frenel's late 17th-century optics prism design for the light has 700 lenses. Each side of the bivalve lens prism concentrates the light source received over its whole area into a single beam of great intensity (Source: Wikipedia.com).
The most interesting part for me is that the 5-tonne lighthouse lens rotates on a bath of mercury, and the lantern is insured for $5m. The lantern is in a secured room within the lighthouse. The tower was closed temporarily on May 21, 2013, due to a small mercury spill. There were no reports of mercury poisoning from this spill. The mercury was safely removed, and the tower reopened shortly after.
I love how these structures have come about and the history that surrounds them. Even though modern technology has replaced the need for their lights, they still play an essential role in modern lives by symbolising hope, reassurance, and courage.
Here are my early morning shots from my visit to this beautiful monument.
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