CUVIER LIGHTHOUSE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 448, 22 February 1890, Page 5

CUVIER LIGHTHOUSE.

THE FINEST LIGHT IN NEW ZEALAND. VISIBLE FOR TWENTY-SIX NAUTIC MILES. £9,000 WELL SPENT. - : THE HANNAFORD PIRACY.

CuvikuLiohtuou.se, which i a situated on the western end of the island of that name, is admittedly the finest and most modern lighthouse iu New Zealand, the light displayed from its lantern for the benefit of ‘‘ ye mariners ” being a great improvement on the most powerful of the lights previously displayed by any other of the twenty-eight lighthouses under control of the Marine Department of New Zealand. Cuvier lighthouse was completed in the month of September of last year, and was illuminated for the first time on the 22nd of that month. Since that time it has been constantly alight, and has been highly appreciated, especially by the masters of the numerous steamers belonging to the Tj nion Steamship Company which call regularly ■ and frequently at this port. The very night after the Cuvier light was first displayed it enabled the captain of the s.s. Te Anau, inward bound, to make a saving of some five or six hours in negotiating the entrance to the port. The weather being very thick at the time, if it had not been for the welcome appearance of Cuvier light, the Te Anau would, on this occasion, have had to heave-to till daylight to enable her to shape her course for Cape Colville. The existence of the light, however, enabled her to proceed on the voyage without any delay at all. And the same Bort of thing has no doubt been experienced by other mariners frequenting this port. CUVIER ISLAND.

Cuvier Island is a sorb of finger-post to the south-eastern entrance to Hauraki Gulf. It is a rocky, hilly, and barren-looking spot, though nob so barren as it would appear at first sight, partly covered with pohutakawa. The island contains in all about seven hundred acres, of which forty acres belong to the Government, the balance being private property. The laßb visit paid to this island was made by the Government steamer, under command of Captain Fairchild, which left this port at midnight on ►Sunday evening last, and returned at nine o’clock last evening. T.he trip was made by direction of the Marine Department, to enable Mr L. H. B. Wilson, Assistant Secretary to that Department and Inspector of Lighthouses, to make an official visit. The Chairman and members of the Harbour Board and also His Worship the Mayor were invited to accompany Mr Wilson, in order that they might have an opportunity of seeing this important addition to tne lighthouses of this part of the colony ; but, unfortunately, only two of these gentlemen, Messrs M. Niccol and W. G. Winstone, availed themselves of the invitation, others being prevented from doing so by pressure of business. Mi David Scott, who personally superintended the construction of the Cuvier Lighthouse, was also a passongor, as was Mr Thos. xiillj Collector of Cuboms, and a representative of the Evkmnc Star accompanied the party. Seven hours’ slow steaming brought the Hinemoa to an anchorage in 18 fathoms beautifully smooth water, almost underneath the lighthouse, the stern of the vessel being moored to the shore by means of a hawser. Immediately after breakfast the members of the party were rowed ashor6 in one of the ship s boats, and an easy landing was effected at substantial concrete steps, built on one side of a snug little bay. Thence to the lighthouse involved a climb of about half an hour, the route, thanks to Mr Scott's forethought, having been made on the easiest possible grade, and then some very steep travelling had to be done.

A MAORI FIGHTING-GROUND. On the way to the lighthouse Mr Winstone picked up what was apparently a human thigh bone, and it was concluded that this had probably been originally part of the structure of an ancient Maori, Mr Scott stated that in excavations made at Cuvier Island he came across other human remains, including many skulls, buried in the earth. From this fact, together with other siffns, he had conie to the conclusion that the island was, _ in days gone by, a favourite Maori fighting-ground. Captain Fairchild was of a similar opinion, but his opinion was not obtained on the spot, the worthy skipper having remained in chargeof the transshipping operations, there being a large quantity of oil, etc., to be landed, from the Hinemoa, and a large quantity of tramway iron, a horse, etc., to take back. The appearance of the island improved very much as the party ascended, and here and there in a partly-sheltered hollow between the hills some very fair soil came into view, with evidences of fairly successful cultivation. In sheltered positio»s, there could be seen three neat-look-ing cottages, one of which is occupied by the chief lighthouse keeper, Mr Chandler, and his family, and two others occupied by the second and third keeper’s. From these cottages to the eastern point of the island upon which the lighthouse . is erected is a distance of about one mile, and the grade is very steep.. Midway there is another house in which oil is stored, lhe means of communication are far in advance of what might be supposed. A tramway runs from the lighthouse past the oil store, on to the cottages, and thence down to the landing, where there is ©rcctcd a handy crane for convenience in landing or shipping heavy weights. The lighthouse .is likewise in telegraphic communication with the cottages, so that one keeper may call up a companion at any moment; and still further, communication is had witn me lighthouse by means of a winding footpath, the tramway which runs straight up the. face of thehill not being negotiable by pedestrian s. In fact, everything is carried out with evident forethought, and in a manner •which reflects more than credit on the designer, for it is only due to Mr Scott to mention that he not only superintended the erection of the lighthouse, but also controlled every other portion of the work, even to the fixing of the lantern and machinery. THE LIGHTHOUSE Cuvier lighthouse and its surroundings form a very pretty picture. Situated on an elevation 390 ft. above sea level, the tower rises 50£t in height. It is almost cylindrical in shape, but, like moac other lighthouses? tapers. off slightly from the base upwards, the roo* of the struc turo terminating in a handsome cupola. Entering the tower at its base, the party were carefully piloted to the topmost point of the structure, obtaining eventually such a splendid view of the Hauraki Gulf and surrounding country as seldom falls to the lot of any. The first impression given bv the. lighthouse; was its strength.’' It is built of iron, on a very symmetrical model, the . quality of the material 1 and the mariner in which the work has been done being all that could be desired. From the apartment _on the ground floor could be seen a “ lower depth, cellar, the tower having been built into

the ground for some considerable distance, to counterbalance the topmost weight, sothat the whole structure is a 3 steady as a rock even in the worst of gales. A spiral staircase enabled the visitors to ascend to a second iioor, where oil and sundry apparatus is stored, and another spiral ascension transported them to yet another apartment, containing the machinery by which the revolving light is worked. Here Mr W llson explained the intricacies of the mechanism, and the visitors availed themselves of the opportunity of recording their names in tho visitors’ book, which had previously boasted of only three inscriptions. Above this again was seen the revolving light, dazzling in the brightness of its multiplicity of glasses, and the more venturesome were able to climb to the outermost extremity of the tower by means of an iron ladder, and a convenient form of hand and foot rests, so arranged as to be useful for any emergency. A brass plate attached to the • lighting apparatus contains the following concise information : “ First Order Revolving Dioptric Apparatus. Makes one revolu tion in four minutes. One flash every thirty seconds. Engineers, D. and T. Stevenson, Edinburgh. Contractors, Barbier and Fenestre, Paris. James Milne and Son, Edinburgh.” HISTORY - OF THE LIGHTHOUSEMr Wilson, in the course of conversation with our representative, supplied the following additional information concerning the structure —In consequence of continual demands made upon the Government for the erection of a lighthouse at Cuvier Island or in its vicinity, it was decided to accede to the demand by erecting one where the Cuvier lighthouse now stands. Mr Blackett, then Marine Engineer, sent Home through the Agent-General to Messrs D. and T. Stevenson, of Edinburgh, engineers for the Northern Board of Lighthouses for Scotland, requesting them to prepare a design and details of a suitable apparatus. The apparatus now in use was consequently designed and made under their inspection and direction. After the light was received in the colony, a cast iron tower was designed by Mr Blackett. Tenders were invited for its erection, and the lowest tender, that of Messrs Beaney, of Arch Hill, Auckland, was accepted. They completed the contract in a very satisfactory manner. Mr D. Scott was sent to Cuvier Island with a party of men in August, 1888. The building of the lighthouse and other necessary incidental works were executed under his superintendence; the lantern and lighting apparatus were afterwards erected by Mr Scott, and the whole of the work was completed early in September, 1889, the light being first exhibited for the benefit of mariners on the 22nd of that month.

THE MOST POWERFUL LIGHT IN THE COLONY. The light is a first order, revolving dioptric light, showing a flash every half minute. The lighting apparatus has eight sides, and it therefore each revolution in the space of four minutes. The lamp consists of a five - wick concentric burner, being one _ of Captain Dove’s patent, and the oil is forced upwards from the cistern to the burner by a small set of pumps driven by clockwork. The apparatus is so _ constructed as to revolve by what is practically speaking a large clock, the motive power being a heavy weight. It requires to be wound up by the lighthouse-keeper in attendance once every two hours, and the machinery more immediately connected with the lamps has to be wound up once every twenty minutes. It will therefore be seen that besides attending to the flame of the light, the keepers have to be fairly busy during their spells on duty. The Cuvier light is the most powerful of any light on the New Zealand coast, being visible to the naked eye for a distance of 20 nautical miles. The glasswork of the apparatus! which is of a most beautiful and interesting description, was made by Messrs Barbier and Fenestre, of Paris. The machine lamp, lamps, etc., were made by Messrs Milne and Co,, of Edinburgh, and the lantern by Messrs Dove and Co., also of Edinburgh. Besides the lighthouse, there are three dwellings, one for each of the keepers, besides oil and dry stores, and other necessary buildings. Tho keepers depend, to a great extent, for their supply of water on rain ; but there is a fair spring, to which a pump is attached, and, notwithstanding the dryness of the season, the supply obtained from this source now is liberal.

THE ORDINARY LANDING is effected on the south-western side of the island, where there is a large derrick crane. The landing is built in concrete, with convenient platform, steps, and tramway leading to various parts of the island. Goods, when landed, are hauled up to the higher ground by means of the tramway, the motive power being a winch. THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS. The principal keeper is Mr W. Chandler, who was until recently, for some years at the Brothers’ Lighthouse, in Cook’s Strait. The keepers are supplied with stores once a quarter, when a steamer calls by arrangement, that being at present the sole reliable method of communication between thelighthouse and the outer world. COST OF THE LIGHTHOUSE. It is estimated that the total cost of the Cuvier lighthouse will amount to between £B,OOO and £9,000, the lighting apparatus alone having cost something like £3,500. The consumption of oil in a lighthouse of this description is of course a considerable item. The oil used is paraffin, that being the illuminant generally adopted throughout the United Kingdom now for lighthouse purposes. The consumption of oil at Cuvier lighthouse is estimated at about 1 200 gallons yearly. The light burns from sunset to sunrise, and it will therefore be seen that the hourly consumption of oil must amount to a very respectable quantity. PROGRESS OF THE WORK.

The completion of the Cuvier lighthouse occupied altogether about twelve months. The engineering difficulties were at the outset by no means insignificant. The first point of importance wag, of course, selection of the site for the lighthouse, and in placing it upon the eastern extremity of the island Mr Scott undoubtedly made the best choice possible, the altitude of 390 feet above the sea level being more desirable than a loftier situation which might have been obtained on another point, it being quite possible, and even a serious blunder, to eiec.t a lighthouse at too great an elevation. Having selected* the site, Mr Scott got eio-ht men to assist him in the work, and from this till completion of the lighthouse, he had underhim from eighbto fourteen men. All the material required for the construction of the lighthouse, cottages, etc., was brought to the island- by the Go ver n ment steamers Hinemoa and Stella. At the outset some little difficulty was experienced in getting the material ashore by hand, but this was shortly obviated bytbeconstruction of a good landing and erection of a handy crane of Mr Scott s owrif designing. The next undertaking was to lay down the tramways connecting the landing with the lighthouse, and in this part,of the work an almost perpendicular hill had to be overcome. This done, Mr Scott started operations ou

the lighthouse site by Wasting away the top of the hill for a depth of 15ft, and in this way a level surface was obtained whereon to place the tower. The further excavation of this spot for a depth of 7ft wasin due course completed, and the foundation of the tower having been built, theconstiucfcion ofthotower properwasoomtnenced and pushed forward vigorously till completion. The erection of the tower and lighting apparatus occupied about four months, the other eight months having been occupied in the building of cottages, construction of tramways, roads, landing, etc.

MR HANNAFORD’S GRIEVANCE. While at Cuvier Island our representative availed himself of the opportunity of investigating Mr Hannaford’s grievance. It may be remembered that MrHannafordcom • plained to the New Zealand Governmentthat the designer of the lighthouse had pirated some of his ideas as displayed in the Hanna* ford patent. Mr Hannaford claimed that in building a cast-iron tower, the Government had infringed his patent. There is no doubt about the resemblance between the Cuvier lighthouse and Mr Hannaford’s patent in ‘ this respect, and the only question is, which was first in the field ? Upon Mr Hannaford’s complaint being investigated it was ascertained that this iron tower had been designed so far back as 1857 or 1858, and the original drawings were produced to show that there could have been no infringement of Mr Hannaford's ideas. Possibly, as Mr Hannaford suggested, the exhibition of his patent led to the resuscitation of the original drawings from some dusty pigeon hole, where they had lain for yeare forgotten ; but, be that as it may, Mr Hannaford had to be satisfied with the explanation. A SATISFACTORY INSPECTION,

The inspection made by Mr Wilson and the members of the Harbour Board who accompanied him was in every respect satisfactory, it being unanimously agreed that the lighthouse was one to be proud of, while the manner in which the work has been carried out reflected the greatest credit upon the superintendent, Mr D. Seott. After leaving Cuvier Island, the Hinemoa steamed to Punui lighthouse, half-way between Auckland and Thames. Mr Wilson and Mr Scott also landed here, and after a brief interview with the lighthouse keeper they returned on board of the Hinemoa, Queen-street Wharf being reached shortly before nine o’clock last evening.