Hornby Lighthouse

Hornby Lighthouse, also known as South Head Lower Light or South Head Signal Station, is an active lighthouse located on the tip of South Head, New South Wales, Australia, a headland to the north of the suburb Watsons Bay. It marks the southern entrance to Port Jackson and Sydney Harbour, as well as lighting the South Reef, a ledge of submerged rocks. It is the third oldest lighthouse in New South Wales. Designed by Mortimer Lewis and listed on the Register of the National Estate and the New South Wales State Heritage Register, the lighthouse is considered of significance as:HistoryThe need for a lighthouse at the entrance of Jackson Bay was made evident by the loss of two ships. First was the Dunbar, wrecked in August 1857, with the loss of 121 lives. The second was Catherine Adamson, two months later in October 1857, with a loss of twenty-one lives.A committee of the Light, Pilot and Navigation Board took evidence in September 1857 and recommended the construction of a 30ft lighthouse on the inner South Head, showing a fixed white light (F.W.), although a red light was also considered.The lighthouse was designed by Alexander Dawson, the New South Wales Government Architect at that time. Dawson approved the recommended location as having adequate foundations, and also reported that the government stores already had a catoptric lens apparatus available that has been purchased in 1853.