Bringing light to part of Tiritiri Matangi history
Bringing light to part of Tiritiri Matangi historyAuthor: Jonathan MowerDate: 23/04/23On January 1, 1865, the new and then richly red Tiritiri Matangi lighthouse first shone its light over the Hauraki. Although that light has been continuously operational since that day, how the light has been generated has changed many times. First lit by colza/canola oil, it changed consecutively to using paraffin, and acetylene, then to electricity first from diesel generators, then from a cable link to the national grid, then reverted back to diesel generators and ultimately to solar power with diesel generator backup as it remains today.
Cyclone Gabrielle and other weather events in February caused deep scouring to parts of the island’s coastline and in doing so brought to light part of this history when it uncovered parts of the submarine cable that in 1967, linked the island to the national grid and ended years of diesel power generation. Laid across the sea bottom, the cable stretched in a loop from Pink Beach near the end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula, across Whangaparaoa Passage to Tiritiri Matangi Island where it exited at the northern end of Hobb’s Beach and travelled inland.
