Lighthouses of New Zealand

Maritime New Zealand owns and maintains the lighthouses and beacons that are outside harbour limits in New Zealand. Those within harbour limits are controlled by local authorities. Ultimate responsibility for all maritime navigation aids in New Zealand lies with Maritime New Zealand.

There are three categories of lighthouses used around New Zealand:

• Landfall lights – the first to be seen by a ship approaching the New Zealand coast
• Coastal lights – used mainly for fixing and confirming a vessel's position along the coastline
• Harbour lights – guide vessels into port.

Maritime New Zealand has 23 lighthouses and 75 lightbeacons. A lightbeacon is a small low-range light. Harbour authorities also have lighthouses and lightbeacons.

Map of all our lights and beacons around New Zealand [PDF: 220Kb, 1 page]
Map of our lighthouse positions in New Zealand [PDF: 423Kb, 1 page]