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Kōrero: Lighthouses

Proposed site at Cape Saunders

In 1874 marine engineer John Blackett accompanied Captain Robert Johnson to survey sites for future lighthouses. He prepared these sketches of two possible locations for a light at Cape Saunders, on the south coast of Otago Peninsula. His report explains that the site marked ‘D’ was 292 feet (89 metres) high, and would require a road from a recommended landing place almost two miles (3 kilometres) long. The second site, marked ‘E’, at Mātakitaki Point, was 180 feet (55 metres) high, and would require a shorter road. The lower elevation, he wrote, ‘gives it a very great advantage over the other as it lies below the line of fog which so frequently obscures the higher levels, as we had abundant opportunities of verifying during the trip.’ In the event Mātakitaki Point was chosen and a light shone there for the first time in January 1880.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Reference: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1875, H-12a

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Helen Beaglehole, Lighthouses – Building, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/zoomify/6660/proposed-site-at-cape-saunders (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Helen Beaglehole, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.

Comments

Debrulle Zoë
26 July 2017
Hello, I'm Zoë Debrulle and I'm an occupational therapist in a residential care centre in Kortrijk, Belgium. We want to give our residents, older people, a fantastic summer by organising a contest between the different departments. We have to complete different tasks to win stars. The department that has won the most stars at the end of the summer wins something that the residents has asked for. One of the tasks is to receive a postcard that comes the furthest off Belgium. At the moment that's a card from Dunedin New Zealand. With our department, we want to do better and we want to ask you if you want to send a postcard from Cape Saunders. We already received one off the wild life park in Auckland, but that is not far enough to win. We hope to receive a card from you, and that you help us to give our residents a fantastic summer and contest. The address is: Sint Vincentius Kortrijk t.a.v. Woonhuis Goudsbloem, Mirte Houtmarkt 33 8500 Kortrijk Belgium Thanks for ready this and we hope we hear from you! Kind Regards, Zoë Debrulle