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Story: Lighthouses

Steel lighthouse, Farewell Spit

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Steel lighthouse, Farewell Spit

In the early 1890s it was discovered that the wooden lighthouse had been weakened by the wind and abrasive sand. It was replaced by this steel latticework structure in 1897. During the interwar years the lighthouse was serviced by trucks, which travelled along the spit at low tide.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10054548

by P. R. Dingwall

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How to cite this page

Helen Beaglehole, Lighthouses – A national system, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6654/steel-lighthouse-farewell-spit (accessed 3 June 2026).

Story by Helen Beaglehole, published 2 March 2009.