Diamond Head Lighthouse
Oahu, Hawaii

The first lighthouse in the Pacific was built on Maui in 1840; the first in Honolulu in 1869. Sea captains and shipping firms pressed for more lighthouses because freight and passengers were endangered when the ships ran aground on reefs and shoals during the night. Kamehameha III in 1851 signed legislation, but it was 1878 before even a lookout station was built on the Diamond Head promontory above a major shipping lane.

The first attendant, John Peterson from Sweden and known as "Lighthouse Charlie," spotted incoming vessels through a telescope. He was on duty 17 hours a day, lived in a small cottage nearby, and was paid $50 month. Then a steamship ran aground in 1897. Within two years, a stone tower was completed with a fixed white light connected to the city electric system.

The Diamond Head Lighthouse was built on the steep coast cliff of the extinct Diamond Head Volcano in 1899 and the original fresnel lens is still in use today. 

After annexation, the federal government, acquiring the acreage, finally built a new lighthouse in 1918--the 55-foot tower, 147 feet above sea level, with an incandescent light and a 60,000 candlepower lens that could be seen 18 nautical miles away. The light shows a red sector to warn vessels away from the reefs of Waikiki Beach. The lighthouse is completely automated with a back-up battery in case of a power outage. Eventually, the lighthouse was placed under the 14th U.S. Coast Guard District, and the keeper's bungalow became the home of the commandant.

My husband saw this lighthouse on several occasions while he served in the U.S. Navy on his way to Viet Nam in the late 60's.

ON TO NEXT LIGHTHOUSE
OR
BACK TO MAIN LIGHTHOUSE PAGE  

Song now playing "Shine, Jesus, Shine"