Nugget Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 at Nugget Point

Nugget Point

Nugget Point is one of the most iconic landforms on the Otago coast. Located at the northern end of the Catlins coast down the road from Kaka Point, this steep headland has a lighthouse at its tip, surrounded by rocky islets...

 in the Otago

Otago

Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

 region of the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand

Maritime New Zealand

Maritime New Zealand is a Crown entity responsible for protecting the maritime environment within New Zealand and maintaining safety and security....

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The light was built in 1870 and was originally fueled by oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

. In 1949 the oil lamp was replaced with an electric one powered by a local diesel generator

Diesel generator

A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy....

. This was subsequently replaced by a connection to the mains grid

Electric power transmission

Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...

 although the original lens

Lens (optics)

A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...

 for the light is still in place and used to this day. The light was fully automated in 1989 and is now managed from a control room in Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

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In 1901 Walter Hutton Champion was the lighthouse keeper along with his wife Alice.