Eddystone Point

{{Short description|Point in Tasmania, Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=May 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}} thumb|Eddystone Point Lighthouse '''Eddystone Point''' lies on the north-east coast of Tasmania, Australia at 40.994 S/148.349 E.

==History==

The first European to sight Eddystone Point was the Dutch navigator, Abel Tasman. In December 1642, Tasman sailed along the entire east coast of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schilder |first1=Günter |title=Australia unveiled : the share of the Dutch navigators in the discovery of Australia |date=1976 |publisher=Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Ltd. |location=Amsterdam |isbn=9022199975 |page=170}}</ref> He recorded that he tried to follow the coast around this headland, but he could not penetrate the wind wall.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Valentyn |first1=Francois |title=Oud en nieuw Oost-Indien |date=1724–1726 |publisher=J. van Braam |location=Dordrecht |isbn=9789051942347 |page=vol.3, p.47}}</ref> The howling westerly gale indicated that here was a strait, not a bay, so Tasman resumed his easterly course to continue his continent-hunting.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cameron-Ash |first1=M. |title=Lying for the Admiralty: Captain Cook's Endeavour Voyage |date=2018 |publisher=Rosenberg |isbn=9780648043966 |pages=105–106}}</ref>

The next European visitor was Tobias Furneaux in HMS Adventure during James Cook's second Pacific voyage, which took place during the period of intense Anglo-French rivalry that filled the twelve years between the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. In March 1773, Furneaux retraced Tasman's course up the east coast of the island to discover whether or not it was joined to New Holland. At 2 a.m. on 19 March, his ship was suddenly tossed 40 miles out to sea and lost its sails. Furneaux named the headland Eddystone Point, after the notorious Eddystone Rocks in the English Channel.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cameron-Ash |first1=M. |title=Lying for the Admiralty |date=2018 |publisher=Rosenberg |location=Sydney |isbn=9780648043966 |pages=155–159}}</ref>

Seal hunting took place here from at least 1827.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kostoglou |first1=Parry |title=Sealing in Tasmania historical research project |date=1996 |publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service |location=Hobart |page=76 |edition=First}}</ref>

Six applications were made to the colonial government to lease land for whaling stations at Eddystone Point in 1841.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Kathyrn |title=Shore-based whaling in Tasmania historical research project; Volume 2; site histories |date=1993 |publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service |location=Hobart |page=66 |edition=First}}</ref> It is uncertain how many of these leases were taken up.

== {{anchor|lighthouse}}Eddystone Point Lighthouse ==  In 1884, the adjacent colonies of Tasmania and Victoria were discussing the erection of a lighthouse at Eddystone Point, which was eventually built<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9097053 |title=Eddystone Lighthouse. |newspaper=The Mercury |location=Hobart, Tasmania |date=5 December 1884 |accessdate=3 July 2011 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> in 1889. The lighthouse and keepers' cottages are made of granite, quarried from nearby.<ref name=loa>{{cite web | title=Eddystone Point Lighthouse | website=Lighthouses of Australia Inc. | date=29 January 2018 | url=https://lighthouses.org.au/tas/eddystone-point-lighthouse/ | access-date=1 September 2021}}</ref> Head of works and head mason was James Galloway from Glasgow, Scotland, who migrated to Tasmania to oversee the building program. His brother, Alexander Galloway, also migrated from Glasgow to work on the building of the lighthouse and cottages.{{cn|date=September 2021}}

In the early 1920s, heavy storms damaged the buildings, jetties and equipment, and flooded the tower.<ref name=loa/>

In 1935, wireless communication was installed.<ref name=loa/>

In 1960, the First Order Chance Brothers lens that had been removed from the Cape du Couedic Lighthouse on Kangaroo Island in South Australia was shipped to Melbourne for installation at Eddystone Point Lighthouse.<ref name=amsa>{{cite web| url=https://www.operations.amsa.gov.au/lighthouses/| format=Interactive map + text.|website= Australian Maritime Safety Authority|title=Cape du Couedic| date=2020| access-date=1 September 2021}} 50px Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)] licence. (See [https://www.amsa.gov.au/copyright copyright notice].</ref>

== Geography == === Climate === Larapuna experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen: ''Cfb'')<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps/averages/climate-classification/?maptype=kpn |title = Climate classification maps: Köppen - all classes |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = January 24, 2026}}</ref> with mild, windy conditions year-round. On average, Larapuna only has 47.6 clear days whilst having 142.4 cloudy days per annum. The wettest recorded day was 22 April 1960 with {{convert|210.6|mm|in|abbr=on}} of rainfall. Extreme temperatures ranged from {{convert|38.2|C}} on 19 January 2018 to {{convert|-4.4|C}} on 6 August 1929.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.farmonlineweather.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=92045 |title = Larapuna (Eddystone Point) Climate (1908-2023) |website = FarmOnline Weather |publisher = Australian Community Media |access-date = January 24, 2026}}</ref>

{{Weather box |location = Larapuna (Eddystone Point) ({{coord|40.99|S|148.35|E}}) ({{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} AMSL) (1908-2025) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 38.2 |Feb record high C = 34.7 |Mar record high C = 34.1 |Apr record high C = 26.5 |May record high C = 23.3 |Jun record high C = 19.4 |Jul record high C = 19.0 |Aug record high C = 19.4 |Sep record high C = 26.7 |Oct record high C = 28.8 |Nov record high C = 32.8 |Dec record high C = 35.0 |Jan high C = 20.9 |Feb high C = 21.1 |Mar high C = 20.2 |Apr high C = 18.0 |May high C = 15.6 |Jun high C = 13.6 |Jul high C = 13.1 |Aug high C = 13.6 |Sep high C = 14.9 |Oct high C = 16.3 |Nov high C = 17.9 |Dec high C = 19.4 |Jan low C = 13.3 |Feb low C = 14.0 |Mar low C = 13.1 |Apr low C = 11.1 |May low C = 9.4 |Jun low C = 7.8 |Jul low C = 6.9 |Aug low C = 7.0 |Sep low C = 7.9 |Oct low C = 9.0 |Nov low C = 10.5 |Dec low C = 12.1 |Jan record low C = 4.6 |Feb record low C = 4.4 |Mar record low C = 2.5 |Apr record low C = 1.7 |May record low C = 0.6 |Jun record low C = -0.4 |Jul record low C = -1.1 |Aug record low C = -4.4 |Sep record low C = 0.0 |Oct record low C = 0.7 |Nov record low C = 2.0 |Dec record low C = 4.2 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 45.0 |Feb precipitation mm = 45.9 |Mar precipitation mm = 58.6 |Apr precipitation mm = 63.3 |May precipitation mm = 64.1 |Jun precipitation mm = 73.5 |Jul precipitation mm = 73.3 |Aug precipitation mm = 69.4 |Sep precipitation mm = 62.7 |Oct precipitation mm = 67.8 |Nov precipitation mm = 60.6 |Dec precipitation mm = 59.5 |year precipitation mm = 744.1 |unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm |Jan precipitation days = 9.3 |Feb precipitation days = 8.8 |Mar precipitation days = 10.8 |Apr precipitation days = 12.8 |May precipitation days = 14.7 |Jun precipitation days = 16.1 |Jul precipitation days = 16.8 |Aug precipitation days = 16.7 |Sep precipitation days = 14.9 |Oct precipitation days = 14.1 |Nov precipitation days = 12.0 |Dec precipitation days = 11.4 |Jan afthumidity = 68 |Feb afthumidity = 69 |Mar afthumidity = 69 |Apr afthumidity = 69 |May afthumidity = 73 |Jun afthumidity = 75 |Jul afthumidity = 75 |Aug afthumidity = 72 |Sep afthumidity = 71 |Oct afthumidity = 70 |Nov afthumidity = 70 |Dec afthumidity = 69 |Jan dew point C = 12.7 |Feb dew point C = 13.4 |Mar dew point C = 12.6 |Apr dew point C = 10.7 |May dew point C = 9.6 |Jun dew point C = 8.2 |Jul dew point C = 7.5 |Aug dew point C = 7.2 |Sep dew point C = 7.9 |Oct dew point C = 8.9 |Nov dew point C = 10.3 |Dec dew point C = 11.6 |source = Bureau of Meteorology (1908-2025)<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_092045_All.shtml |title = Larapuna (Eddystone Point) Climate Statistics (1908-2025) |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = January 24, 2026}} </ref> }}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Eddystone Point Lighthouse}} *John Smeaton [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/search/searchterm/smeaton!edystone/field/creato!title/mode/all!all/conn/and!and/order/nosort ''A narrative of the building and a description of the construction of the Edystone Lighthouse''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043849/http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/search/searchterm/smeaton!edystone/field/creato!title/mode/all!all/conn/and!and/order/nosort |date=1 December 2017 }} (1791 and 1793 editions) – Linda Hall Library

Category:North East Tasmania Category:Lighthouses in Tasmania Category:Seal hunting Category:Whaling stations in Australia