NSWPort & river
Norah Head
A run of shipwrecks put a lighthouse on the headland.
1903Lighthouse first lit
WHAT STARTED IT
The headland, once called Bungaree Norah after the Aboriginal explorer Bungaree, juts out from a coast where about 35 ships had been wrecked by the 1890s. After decades of local campaigning a lighthouse was built, with materials landed at a wharf in Cabbage Tree Harbour.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The light was first shown on 15 November 1903, the last lighthouse built in the James Barnet style. Keepers worked it for more than 90 years until it was automated in 1994, and during World War II mines and a submarine sank ships off the head.
TURNING POINTS
1903Norah Head Lighthouse is officially lit on 15 November.
1940The ship Nimbin sinks after striking a mine off the head.
1942BHP’s Iron Chieftain is sunk by a Japanese submarine.
1961The light is electrified.
1994The light is automated and the keepers withdrawn.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A small coastal village known for its surf beaches, rock pool and lighthouse precinct, where former keepers’ cottages are let to visitors.