Offer Wadham lighthouse

OfferWadham Lighthouse
OfferWadham Lighthouse
Newfoundland
Location Wadham Islands
Newfoundland and Labrador
Canada
Coordinates 49°35′36.3″N 53°45′46.7″W / 49.593417°N 53.762972°W / 49.593417; -53.762972Coordinates: 49°35′36.3″N 53°45′46.7″W / 49.593417°N 53.762972°W / 49.593417; -53.762972
Year first constructed 1858 (first)
Year first lit 1990s (current)
Automated 1990s
Deactivated 1990s (first)
Construction brick and limestone encased in concrete tower (first)
steel skeletal tower (current)
Tower shape octagonal prism tower lantern removed (first)
square frustum tower
Markings / pattern unpainted tower (first)
Height 12 metres (39 ft) (first)
6 metres (20 ft) (current)
Focal height 30.5 metres (100 ft)
Light source solar power
Characteristic Fl W 3s.
Admiralty number H0584
CHS number CCG 396
NGA number 1440
ARLHS number CAN-696
Managing agent Canadian Coast Guard [1]

The Offer Wadham lighthouse is an active lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, was lit for the first time on October 4, 1858. It was built after many petitions were sent to the government arguing for a light to be put on the island to help guide mariners. This arose especially after the "Spring of the Wadhams" in 1852, when more than 40 sealing vessels were crushed and abandoned in the ice near Offer Wadham Island and several crew members escaped by climbing over cliffs to find shelter.[2]

Keepers

The first lighthouse keeper was Thomas Hennessey and his assistant was Edward Reddy. Charles Prowse was appointed keeper in November 1862 until 1901 and his assistants were William Hennessey, William Murphy, Peter Woods, and Robert Wellon. Other lighthouse keepers on the island were:[3]

Description

The lighthouse is described in the Newfoundland Almanac as a steady, fixed, white 4th order dioptric burning on a circular brick tower at an arc of 360 degrees with a 2 wick concentric lamp. It was 100 feet (30 m) above sea level and could be seen at about 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi).[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Northwestern Newfoundland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  2. ↑ Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
  3. ↑ Roland Abbott, A Brief History of the Offer Wadham Island: the Million Dollar Rock, 1994
  4. ↑ The Newfoundland Almanac, 1860, 1865, and 1887
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