Puysegur Point
Encyclopedia
Puysegur Point is located in the far southwest of the South Island
of New Zealand
. It lies within Fiordland National Park
on the southern head of Preservation Inlet
. It lies 145 kilometres west-northwest of Invercargill
. It is the site of a lighthouse station now automated but for many years the home of 3 married permanent lighthouse keepers. The original wooden lighthouse was burnt down in 1943 by a man who had recently left a psychiatric hospital and made his way down to Coal Island across the fjord from the lighthouse. He decided the light was a deliberate plot to keep him awake at night by shining in his window so took matters into his own hands. He held all the keepers hostage with a rifle, smashed the radio telephone and set fire to the lighthouse. The concrete lighthouse which replaced it has now in turn been replaced by two automated beacons.
A large earthquake in this region on 15th July 2009 pushed Puysegur Point closer to Australia
by 30 cm.
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 lies within Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km², and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
on the southern head of Preservation Inlet
Preservation Inlet
Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fjord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand.-Geography:...
. It lies 145 kilometres west-northwest of Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
. It is the site of a lighthouse station now automated but for many years the home of 3 married permanent lighthouse keepers. The original wooden lighthouse was burnt down in 1943 by a man who had recently left a psychiatric hospital and made his way down to Coal Island across the fjord from the lighthouse. He decided the light was a deliberate plot to keep him awake at night by shining in his window so took matters into his own hands. He held all the keepers hostage with a rifle, smashed the radio telephone and set fire to the lighthouse. The concrete lighthouse which replaced it has now in turn been replaced by two automated beacons.
A large earthquake in this region on 15th July 2009 pushed Puysegur Point closer to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
by 30 cm.