Waipapa Point Lighthouse

The lighthouse was built in response to the wreck of the passenger steamer Tararua on reefs off Waipapa Point on 29 April 1881, with the loss of 131 lives, New Zealand’s worst civilian shipwreck. After the shipwreck a Court of Inquiry, investigating the loss of the Tararua, recommended a light be erected on the point. It was first lit on 1 January 1884. With its sibling, the retired Kaipara North Head Lighthouse, this was one of the last two wooden lighthouses built in New Zealand.
The lighthouse was automated and keepers withdrawn in 1975. It has been solar powered since 1988. A new LED beacon was installed externally on the balcony of the lighthouse in December 2008. Two other recommendations submitted by the Court of Inquiry following the wreck were put into effect, marking an important turning point in New Zealand’s maritime safety procedures. From 1882, lifebelts had to be provided for every person on board a ship, and crews were to regularly practice life-boat evacuation procedures.
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