Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00163:reg:2023:p9
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00163
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2023 (pt 9/14)
Character Range: 23402–26337

only.
Access to the Sugarloaf Point headland is via a sealed road that winds up from the Seal Rocks village to the keepers' cottages. From the parking area in the village there is only pedestrian access for the public unless staying at the cottages. There is no vehicle access beyond the Keepers' Quarters, only a sealed pedestrian way up to the Lighthouse. The Keepers' trolley way is no longer in use.
Access inside the lighthouse tower is restricted to AMSA employees and authorised personnel.
Figure 7. View of pedestrian access way to Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse (© AMSA, 2020)

Figure 8. Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse (© AMSA 2019)
   2.5  Listings
Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse is listed on the following heritage registers:
List                             ID
Commonwealth Heritage List       105602[x]
Register of the National Estate  103604[xi]
NSW State Heritage Register      02025[xii]

The place is also located in local government area "Great Lakes region" within the Mid-Coast Council and is listed in the Great Lakes Local Environment Plan as Local Heritage Item number I30.

  3.   History
   3.1  General history of lighthouses in Australia
The first lighthouse to be constructed on Australian soil was Macquarie Lighthouse, located at the entrance to Port Jackson, NSW. First lit in 1818, the cost of the lighthouse was recovered through the introduction of a levy on shipping. This was instigated by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who ordered and named the light.
The following century oversaw the construction of hundreds of lighthouses around the country. Constructing and maintaining a lighthouse were costly ventures that often required the financial support of multiple colonies. However, they were deemed necessary aids in assisting the safety of mariners at sea. Lighthouses were firstly managed by the colony they lay within, with each colony developing their own style of lighthouse and operational system. Following Federation in 1901, which saw the various colonies unite under one Commonwealth government, lighthouse management was transferred from state hands to the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service.

Lamps and optics: an overview
Lighthouse technology has altered drastically over the centuries. Eighteenth century lighthouses were lit using parabolic mirrors and oil lamps. Documentation of early examples of parabolic mirrors in the United Kingdom, circa 1760, were documented as consisting of wood and lined with pieces of looking glass or plates of tin. As described by Searle, "When light hits a shiny surface, it is reflected at an angle equal to that at which it hit. With a light source is placed in the focal point of a parabolic reflector, the light rays are reflected parallel to one another, producing a concentrated beam".[xiii]

In 1822, Augustin Fresnel invented the dioptric glass lens. By crafting concentric annular rings with a convex lens, Fresnel had discovered a method of reducing the