Barrenjoey, New South Wales

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Barrenjoey Headland and Station Beach viewed from West Head

Barrenjoey is located in the suburb of Palm Beach, at the farthest northern tip of Pittwater. On the 2nd March 1788 Arthur Phillip named the headland "Barrenjuee" (meaning little kangaroo or wallaby). The areas name has had differently spelling throughout history, Barrenjoey now being the accepted name since 1966^[1]

1 The Lighthouse
2 Keepers and Cottages
3 Geology and Geological History
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] The Lighthouse

Barrenjoey Lighthouse located on the headland at the northern end of Palm Beach

The Barrenjoey Lighthouse was the third light ever constructed on the headland and was completed in 1881. Designed by James Barnet the NSW Colonial Architect and built for £13,695 plus a cost of £2,210 for the lamp, at an elevation of 113m can be seen to a distance of 40 km out to sea. ^[2]

A customs station was established in 1843 as the Headland marked the entrance to Broken Bay and Pittwater which were considered to be the back door to Sydney for smugglers. The first report of any light on the headland was in 1855 when a fire was raised in a basket to assist mariners during stormy weather. Broken Bay and the Pittwater were a safe haven in storms for vessels carrying coal from Newcastle to Sydney. Also Barges carrying food down the Hawkesbury River were a large source of food for Sydney and would harbour in the bay, waiting for favourable weather before making the 14km ocean journey to Sydney.^[3]

Later, in 1868, two wooden lighthouses know as the Stewart Towers, were built at either end of the headland to guide ships in. The need for a more permanent light lead to the construction of the current lighthouse. The tower is unpainted and built of the very aesthetic local sandstone. The original apparatus in the new tower was a fixed red dioptric of 700 candlepower with four oil wick burners. In 1900, an explosion followed by a fire destroyed the ornamental roof of the adjacent oil house. Fortunately it was subdued before reaching the tower.

In 1932, the Barrenjoey Lighthouse was converted to automatic operation with the installation of a acetylene gas apparatus with a power of 6,000 candles. It was turned off and on by a Dalen Sun Valve. Even though the acetylene gas apparatus was efficient, access to the tower for re-supply caused problems and in 1972 the light was converted to electric operation and a new lamp capable of 75,000 candlepower. ^[4]

[edit] Keepers and Cottages

There is a head keepers cottage as well as two assistant keepers cottages located on the headland. It is built from Hawesbury sandstone that was quarried from the site, and has a galvanized iron roof. Keepers of the lighthouse where:

1881 - 1885 George Mulhall
1881 - 1891 George Mulhall Jnr
1931 - 1932 John Berryman
1932 - 1960 Cottages were unoccupied and subject to neglect and vandalism.
1960 - 1997 The cottages were leased
1997 - present the cottages where taken over by the National Parks and Wildlife service, who removed many non native plants and spent $230,000 restoring the cottages, lighthouse and walking tracks.

[edit] Geology and Geological History

The headland is mostly made up of Hawkesbury sandstone which overlays Narrabeen shale, around 10,000 years ago the headland was cutoff from the mainland due to the rising sea level. But a subsequent buildup of a sand spit reconnected the island to the mainland.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Barranjoey.com Accessed 2007-01-07-T21:28
^ National Parks and wildlife Landscape Plan Accessed 2007-01-08-T10:00
^ Martin Burke The Father of Pittwater - By James J Macken, National Library of Australia
^ Lighthouse's of new south wales Accessed 2007-01-07-T17:00