Two Auckland Maritime Icons Share an Anniversary

Press Release

Two Auckland Maritime Icons Share an Anniversary.

Two Auckland maritime icons share an anniversary, namely Bean Rock Lighthouse and The Ferry Terminal Building. It was on July 24 1871 that the Bean Rock lamp was officially lit and it was on July 24 1912 that The Ferry Terminal Building was officially opened.

To celebrate the significance of this historic coincidence Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum is hosting a sailing on Ted Ashby on the Waitemata on Sunday July 28 from 11.30am – 2.00pm. This sailing will be narrated by Haare Williams, Voyager’s Cultural Liason – Pae Arahi. Haare is from Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Tongowhakaata and Tuhoe tribes. He is an acclaimed broadcaster, poet, ‘eminent researcher’, scholar, teacher and leader. Special attention will be given to Bean Rock Lighthouse and The Ferry Terminal Building – both so inextricably woven with the history of the Waitemata.

Bean Rock Lighthouse stands today as New Zealand’s oldest wooden lighthouse and is the sole surviving example of a sea washed tower in the country. It now runs on solar power. The need for a lighthouse became apparent in the 1860s with the discovery of gold on the Coromandel. The increase in shipping that resulted along with more immigrant and cargo ships posed a much great risk of ships striking the reef. The rock that the lighthouse stands on is known in Maori as Te Toka-o-Kapetaua ( Kapetaua’s rock) in memory of the Ngati Paoa ancestor, Kapetaua, who was marooned there by his brother in law. The name Bean Rock honours a navy Captain, P.C. Bean who helped chart the harbour in 1840.

It was over four decades later that the Auckland Ferry Terminal Building was completed. Sited on reclaimed land it was built out of sandstone and brick with a base of Coromandel granite. Designed by architect, Alexander Wiseman it cost 67, 944 pounds, an expensive structure for those days. Over the years the building has gone through several phases of restoration but, essentially she still stands today as an outstanding example of a very grand Edwardian Baroque building – an absolute landmark on the Waitemata Harbour.

Bookings: info@maritimemuseum.co.nz 09 373 0800

Costs: Adults $35, Students/Senior Citizens $32, Children $18.

ENDS

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