Skip to main content

Story: Lighthouses

Cuvier Island

Image
Cuvier Island

Cuvier Island lighthouse, pictured here in heavy mist, marks the southern approach to Auckland Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf. One of the country’s most distant offshore lighthouses, it was disliked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because communication was so erratic. When New Zealand’s first locally cast iron tower went up on Cuvier Island in 1889, materials had to be hauled 100 metres up a steep hill directly from boats. The landing place was often unworkable.

Using this item

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10052196

by Terry C. Greene

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Helen Beaglehole, Lighthouses – Building, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6664/cuvier-island (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Helen Beaglehole, published 2 March 2009.