Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: When was the Montague Island Light built?
The Montague Island Light is an heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Montague Island, an island in the Tasman Sea, 9 kilometres (5.6mi) offshore from Narooma on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. The lighthouse is located at the highest point of the island. It was designed by James Barnet and NSW Colonial Architect and built from 1878 to 1881 by J. Musson and completed By W. H. Jennings. It is also known as the Montague Island Lightstation and its setting. The property is owned by the Office of Environment and Heritage, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999,[2] and the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.[3]
At the time of Samuel Holland's survey in the 1760s, Georgetown was designated as the shire town of Kings County. The Montague River was the southernmost of three rivers draining the area. Eventually Lower Montague, Montague Road and Montague Bridge were named after the river. The river itself traces its name to either George Brudenell, 4th Earl of Cardigan (later George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu), John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, or Montague Wilmot, Governor of Nova Scotia (which then included St. John's Island - present-day Prince Edward Island) at the time of Holland's survey. The Garden of the Gulf Museum (c. 1887 to 1888) is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
The seat of the Barons Montagu of Beaulieu is Beaulieu Palace House in Beaulieu, Hampshire. The house, built around the gatehouse of the monastery of Beaulieu Abbey (the extensive ruins of which are a major feature of the estate), was purchased in 1538 by Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, when the abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII. The house came into the Montagu family through the marriage of Ralph Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu, and Lady Elizabeth Wriothesley, daughter of Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton.
Montague Island is the second largest island off the New South Wales east coast other than Lord Howe Island. It has been classified by the National Trust as a Landscape Conservation Area for its scenic, scientific and historical values. The Montague Island Light buildings are entered on the Register of the National Estate because of the architectural quality of the tower and residences.[2]
Montague Island, at eighty two hectares, is the largest inshore island on the NSW coast. It is divided into two segments by a ravine running north - south. Originally the northern headland of a low isthmus extending from Cape Dromedary. It was isolated by rising sea levels. The island features rugged coastline with steep cliffs, especially on the eastern side. Landing is possible at only two locations in sheltered areas on the western side of the Island. Access by boat is governed by the sea conditions at the Narooma Bar and limited to about two days in every three.[2]
The first scientific visit to the island was by an amateur ornithologist, A. F. Basset Hull in 1907 and other visits followed, such as that of geologist Ida Brown in 1928. Throughout these visits, lighthouse operations continued. Manning of the lighthouse continued until 1985. Montague remained manned as it was deemed that the benefits derived from human presence were greater than the cost savings of automating the station.[2]
Assistant Keeper's Cottages, 1881
The island was known as Negro Island until 1934, when it was renamed Curtis Island in honor of Cyrus H. K. Curtis, a publisher and philanthropist who was a frequent visitor. The light was authorized in 1835 and went into service in 1836. The present keeper's house was built in 1889, on the foundation of the original keeper's house, and the light tower was built in 1896. In addition to serving as a marker for the Camden Harbor entrance, the station also served as a signal tower for Bangor-bound ships.
The PEIR mainline from Georgetown extended through Montague Junction (where a spur was built to service nearby Montague) to Mount Stewart and on to Royalty Junction (connection to Charlottetown), Summerside and Alberton.
After some debate and lapse of time a radio transceiver with pedal generator was supplied in January 1939. This system also had its problems and telephones finally arrived with electrification in 1950 however it is not known if this was linked to the mainland or was only within the complex. In 1933 "big game" fishing began in Australia when a black marlin was caught off Montague Island. Several fishing shacks dating from the 1930s are believed to have existed on the western shore of the Island, however, no evidence remains of these structures.[4][2]
List of lighthouses and lightvessels in Australia
The island was visited several times by ship-wrecked sailors. During the mid-19th century gold rush at Nerrigundah, sea bird eggs were collected from Montague Island to sell to the miners at the Gulf Mine on Mt. Dromedary. As the foreign and coastal shipping trade to NSW developed in the mid-1800s, pressure increased for the installation of a navigation aid on Montague Island.[4][2]
The monument was built in 1827, and was a functional replica of a similar structure built in 1811 at Cape Elizabeth, a location now occupied by the Cape Elizabeth Lights. A similar monument was built on Stage Island in 1823 off Biddeford, which also serves today as an aid to navigation. When built, the interior would have been stocked with supplies usable by shipwreck victims who might seek refuge on the island. The light was installed on the tower in 1927. It is a white light, flashing for 0.4 seconds once every four seconds.
The Montague Lighthouse, constructed of granite quarried on the island, with its tapering walls and outward curving upper platform andcurved balustrade, is a well proportioned structure displaying very fine elements of design and craftsmanship. The tower provides a strong visual contrast to the rounded granite slabs and sparse vegetation topography of the Island.The white painted buildings with their collection of chimneys, pitched roofs, verandahs and enclosed courtyards clustered on the highest point of the Island present a visual unity and harmony in form, style and materials. The residences are a strong reminder of the era of manned lightstations on the coast of Australia.[2]
Montague Island lies in the Gulf of Alaska at the entrance to Prince William Sound, Alaska. The island has a land area of 790.88 km² (305.36 sq mi), making it the 26th largest island in the United States. As of the 2000 census, Montague did not have a permanent resident population, making it at that time the largest uninhabited island in the United States. Since then, the 2010 abandonment of the Coast Guard station on Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands, which at 344.7 square miles is larger than Montague Island, causes Attu to claim that title. Montague Island is well known among sport fishing out of the Seward port as it is referred to as 'The Land of the Giants'. In 2007 it produced a 350 lb halibut and many boats full of fish over 100 lbs. Montague Island was named by Captain James Cook in honor of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, one of his greatest supporters.
In 1770 Captain James Cook sailed along the NSW coast. In his journal he described a camel shaped mountain which he called Mt Dromedary. Cook failed to recognise the island due to the distance from the coast, believing it to be a headland connected to Mt.nDromedary. In 1790 the convict ship Surprise established that Montague was an island during an inshore trip along the coast. It is possible that the island was named after George Montague Dunk, Earl of Halifax, during this voyage.[2]
The building of a "First Order Fixed and Flashing Light" was first decided 1873, with finance approved in 1877 and tenders called in October 1878. In the Lighthouse Visitors book, James Barnet wrote that the initiation of the lighthouse dates from 1873 when a recommendation was made for the construction of a lighthouse on Montague (formerly Montagu) Island by a "Conference of the Principle Officers of the Marine Departments of the Australian Colonies" chaired by Captain Hixson. It was not until 1877 however that the NSW Government finally provided the necessary funds. Barnet writes that after a visit to the island to ascertain the best location for the light, plans were prepared and tenders invited in October 1878. The initial contractor, J. Musson, defaulted on the contract and in 1880 a second contractor, W. H. Jennings, took over the project and completed it ahead of schedule.[2] Musson did not complete the construction due to finance problems. Problems started with an unauthorized blasting by the contractor that damaged the granite boulder selected as base. As a result, the tower was repositioned several feet. After more difficulties and delay the contractor gave up the contract. In 1880 a temporary light was set up, and a new tender was given, with construction completing a year later in October 1881, 4 months early. The official lighting was on 1 November 1881. The light characteristic was a steady flare for 30s, then an eclipse for 13s, then a flash for 4s, then another eclipse of 13s, a total cycle of one minute. The power source was oil, though some reports say kerosene, and the light intensity was 45,000cd. Its erection coming a little late for the collier, the Lady Darling which was wrecked on a reef just south of the Island in 1880. The light originally had a fixed and flashing mechanism which was upgraded in 1910, 1931 and in 1969 when the light was converted from oil to electricity.[2]
A lighthouse is maintained on the island by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. The lighthouse was designed by James Barnet and built in 1881. It was automated in 1986 and demanned in 1987. The lighthouse is 21 metres (69ft) tall and the light is 80 metres (260ft) above sea level with a nominal range of 20 nautical miles (37km; 23mi) and a geographic range of 17 nautical miles (31km; 20mi). The original Fresnel lens was removed in 1986 and is now on display at the Narooma Lighthouse Museum.[6]
Montague Island Lightstation was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.[2]
The Australian Garden History Society (ACT, Monaro & Riverina Branch) had grant funding to restore the 1880s kitchen gardens on Montague Island, as an interpretive device to aid to visitors' understanding of the light station's history.[5] The reinstatement was undertaken in late 2014 with eight timber raised bed frames installed by NPWS. Children from St Peter's School, Broulee have planted seeds per list in report in four of these beds.[2][6]
Montague Island Lightstation and its setting are highly significant as one of a collection of lighthouses which combine the natural values of a rugged coastal island with the cultural values of a prominent landmark and isolated outpost associated with the development of coastal shipping in the late 19th Century.[2] The site was added to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.[3]
Montague is a fine and intact example of a lightstation constructed in NSW during the late 19th century and part of the most productive phase of lighthouse construction during the 1880s.The light is an important part of the NSW network and the so-called "highway lights" but also offered protection to the intrastate traffic to Narooma, Tathra and Eden. It is one of only two major lighthouses in NSW located on off-shore Islands.[2]
Public access to the island is now restricted to guided tours conducted by NSW NPWS staff in association with private tour operators.[4][2]
The lightstation buildings were re-roofed during the 1950s. The asbestos roof was installed, replacing the original heavy duty corrugated iron and later unglazed terra cotta tiles. It appears that the overall roof profile was simplified with the main roof taken directly over the verandahs, however it is not known if the old verandah roof framing was left under the new profile. In 1953 the island became a wildlife sanctuary under the control of the National Trust of Australia (NSW) making Montague the first official National Trust "property" in Australia. Members of the National Trust were regular visitors to the Island from the 1950s onwards, as were scientists from the CSIRO from the 1960s.[2] In 1969 the light was electrified, with a diesel generator supplying the power, and the light intensity was raised to 1,000,000cd. Four panels from Green Cape Lighthouse were fitted, changing the characteristic to one flash every 4.5s.
Palmer Island Light Station is a historic lighthouse in New Bedford Harbor in New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. The lighthouse was built in 1849 out of stone rubble. It was discontinued when the harbor's hurricane barrier was built in the early 1960s, as its location immediately north of the barrier was no longer an outlying danger and there are lights on either side of the barrier opening.