Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00163:reg:2016:p15
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00163
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2016 (pt 15/22)
Character Range: 82965–86219

Captain Hixson proclaimed that he wanted the NSW coastline "illuminated like a street with lamps" (NPWS 'Lighthouse Keeping (Part A)', p15). The systematic construction and installation of navigational aids along the NSW coastline in the mid-to-late 19th century can be attributed to the leadership of Captain Francis Hixson.

                                       Unlike most of the country, the consistency in the design of lightstations in NSW is credited to James Barnet during his service as Colonial Architect from 1865-1890. As head of public architecture, Barnet was responsible for the design of more than a dozen lighthouses along the NSW coastline, constructed in the mid-to-late 19th century.

                                       The Sugarloaf Point Lightstation Group, although the third station built under Barnet's direction, is considered to be the first major lightstation design of his career as Colonial Architect. With a final cost of 18,973 pounds, the Sugarloaf Point Lightstation Group was the most expensive and substantial navigational aid in the state at the time.

Criteria C) Aesthetic significance     Located within the Myall Lakes National Park and sited on an isolated but naturally prominent Seal Rocks headland, the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse is a small but well-proportioned tower that reflects the consistent architectural design of Colonial Architect James Barnet. With its domed oil store, heavily bracketed upper balcony and curved balcony railings, the two-storey lighthouse demonstrates the architectural style used extensively by the Colonial Architect in the late 19th century.

                                       Retaining its original Messrs Chance Bros lantern and distinctive external staircase, the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse is complemented by a compact group of simple mid-Victorian buildings (including Head Keepers and Assistant Keepers Cottages) that are visually unified by alignment, scale, proportion and the use of common materials.

                                       To avoid the harsh elements of the coastal environment of Sugarloaf Point, the suite of station buildings were separated from the tower and constructed on the southern side of the headland, nestled into a landscape cutting that shelter the buildings from the weather.

Criteria D) Social significance        Despite its isolated location, the Sugarloaf Point Lightstation has layers of social significance.

                                       For 91 years (until the station was converted to electricity in 1966), the lightstation was permanently manned by a Head Keeper, two Assistant Keepers and up to three families at any one time. Maintaining the light was of paramount importance to their experience of Sugarloaf Point. Additionally, their lives were inextricably linked to the landscape and ultimately shaped by the natural elements - the water, the cliffs and the native flora and fauna.

                                       The Seal Rocks and Myall Lakes locality is also a significant area of the Worimi people.

                                       Evidence of the area's occupation by the Worimi people, particularly at Sugarloaf Point, can be seen in the campsites and middens of the region. As