Bulletin – Vol 9 No. 6 – November/December 2006

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Stórhöfdi lighthouse, Iceland Photo: Thorsten Henn

Iceland: Stórhöfdi lighthouse turns 100

Iceland Review, 23 November 2006

The 100-year anniversary of Stórhöfdi lighthouse in Vestmannaeyjar islands south of Iceland was celebrated at a special ceremony yesterday. Stórhöfdi is one of the oldest lighthouses in Iceland.

Lighthouse keeper Óskar Jakob Sigurdsson has always lived at Stórhöfdi and has been lighthouse keeper since 1965. He is the only full-time lighthouse keeper left in Iceland. The job of lighthouse keeper at Stórhöfdi has been inherited from father to son for 96 years.

The North Queensferry Lighthouse Photo: North Queensferry Heritage Trust

Scotland: Lighthouse in danger of crumbling

BBC, 29 November 2006

Campaigners have warned that one of Scotland's most iconic lighthouses is in danger of crumbling away unless restoration work is begun urgently.

North Queensferry Lighthouse was constructed between 1810 and 1813 under the direction of celebrated Scots engineer John Rennie. Mr Rennie also built the Crinan Canal and London Bridge.

He superintended Robert Stevenson on the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse off Arbroath. Stevenson, in turn, advised on the lighting arrangements for the North Queensferry tower, also known as The Lantern Tower.

>> Visit the BBC for the continued story, visit haggis1314fife for a photo, or download the article as a PDF.

The Meshima Lighthouse in Japan Photo: red-bmw_san

Japan: Last manned lighthouse becomes automated

Japan Times, 13 November 2006

The Meshima lighthouse on one of Nagasaki Prefecture's Danjyo Islands changed its power source from diesel to solar light Sunday, in a move to automate the nation's last manned lighthouse.

The change at the lighthouse, which went on-stream in 1927 and appeared in a 1957 film featuring a lighthouse keeper's life, completed the Japan Coast Guard's project to automate all 3,337 lighthouses throughout the country. 

Due to some remaining operations, workers will stay on at the Meshima lighthouse until early December but after that, the lighthouse will be unmanned. 

>> Visit Japan Times for the continued story, visit www51.tok2.com for a photo, or download the article as a PDF.

MaineToday.com, 14 December 2006

The Maine Lighthouse Museum (MLM) in Rockland and the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF), the national leader in lighthouse preservation, have announced a groundbreaking collaboration. ALF has become a full partner in the Maine Lighthouse Museum and will be moving its corporate offices to the museum along with its extraordinary artifact collection.

The collaborative effort brings together two of the nation’s finest exhibits of lighthouse artifacts and forms an unprecedented collection of classical lenses and lighthouse equipment, as well as rare lightkeeper mementoes and uniforms. In addition, the combined collection will boast some of the most compelling human interest stories and their paralleling artifacts, all of which pay tribute to the dedicated men, women and children who helped keep the lights shining bright along America’s coastlines for over two centuries.

>> Visit MaineToday for the continued story, or download the article as a PDF.

Russian News & Information Agency, Novosti, 2 November 2006

Russia will not obey a Ukrainian court ruling requiring its Defense Ministry to hand over the Russian Black Sea Fleet's lighthouses in Crimea, the ambassador to Ukraine said Thursday.

Ukraine is seeking control over 22 lighthouses and other navigation facilities on its Crimean peninsula, which are currently being used by the Russian fleet. The ownership of the lighthouses, and the rent Russia pays for them, is one of the main ongoing disputes between the ex-Soviet neighbors.

>> Visit RIA Novosti for the continued story, or download the article as a PDF.

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