Lighthouses of Papua New Guinea

Assembled from several former British colonies, Papua New Guinea includes the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, the island of New Britain, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the island of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. The southeastern quarter of New Guinea was colonized by Britain in 1885, and the northeastern quarter of the island was colonized by Germany in the same year. Australian troops captured the German territories during World War I. The various territories were first combined under Australian administration after World War II. The country became independent in 1975.

Aids to navigation in Papua New Guinea are maintained by the National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA). The authority has a light list and a map showing the location of the major lights in the country (.pdf files).

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. PNG numbers are from the NMSA light list. Admiralty numbers are from volume K of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 111 for Bougainville and the Bismarck Archipelago and from Publication 112 for New Guinea.

General Sources
Nawae Construction
Based at Alotau in Milne Bay Province, this company holds contracts to maintain and upgrade navigational aids in Papua New Guinea; its web site has a number of lighthouse photos.

Spear Point Light
Spear Point Light, March 2009
Panoramio photo (no longer online) copyright 2009 Craig Robbins
all rights reserved; used by permission

New Guinea North Coast Lighthouses

East Sepik Province Lighthouse
Cape Moem
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); three white flashes every 12 s. 15 m (49 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available; the tower doesn't appear in Google's satellite view of the station. Located at the tip of a peninsula about 8 km (5 mi) northeast of Wewak. Site status unknown, probably open. PNG-009; Admiralty K3401; NGA 112-26144.

Madang Province Lighthouses
Condor Point
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); two white flashes every 8 s. 16 m (52 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available; the tower is barely visible in Google's satellite view. The light guides vessels in the Stephen Strait between New Guinea and Manam Island. Located on a forested promontory at Awaro. Site status unknown. PNG-011; Admiralty K3401.4; NGA 112-26152.
Cape Gourdon
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); three white flashes every 9 s. 10 m (33 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the cape. Located on a prominent cape about 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest of Malala. This area is accessible by road. Site status unknown. PNG-012; Admiralty K3401.6; NGA 112-26156.
Cape Croisilles
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 10 m (33 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Gogle has only a distant satellite view of the cape. The light guides vessels in the strait between New Guinea and Kar Kar Island. Located on a prominent cape about 50 km (30 mi) north of Madang. Site status unknown. PNG-013; Admiralty K3401.8; NGA 112-26160.
* Madang (Coastwatchers Memorial, Kalibobo)
1959. Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft); white flash every 15 s. 27 m (89 ft) octagonal concrete tower with four buttresses and lantern. The entire lighthouse is white. Kahunapule Michael Johnson's photo is at right, Jason Richard has a 2008 photo, a 2009 photo and Jan Messersmith's aerial photo are also available, and Google has a good satellite view. The lighthouse is a memorial to the Coastwatchers, volunteers organized by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II to spy on Japanese ship and troop movements on the coasts of New Guinea and nearby islands. The building was designed to resemble a torch, but engineers added the buttresses for stability. The resulting tower looks more like a rocket than a torch. Located at Madang, a port on the northeastern coast of New Guinea. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS PAP-008; PNG-020; Admiralty K3402; NGA 112-26172.
Kiau Point (Long Island)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); white flash every 5 s. 23 m (75 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and clouds obscure Google's satellite view. Long Island is a volcanic island off the west end of New Britain; it is actually round rather than long. Located on the northern tip of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-019; Admiralty K3478; NGA 111-10888.

Morobe Province Lighthouses
Note: Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second largest city of Papua New Guinea and the principal port for the north coast. It is located at the head of the Huon Gulf, a large embayment of the Solomon Sea protected on the north by the Huon Peninsula.
Nussing Island (Cape Cretin)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); white flash every 6 s. 20 m (66 ft) white tower, described by NMSA as a fiberglass tower and by NGA as a steel tower on a concrete base. No photo available, and the island is only faintly visible in Google's satellite view. Located on a small island just off Cape Cretin, the eastern tip of the Huon Peninsula. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-027; Admiralty K3406; NGA 112-26188.
Cape Gerhard
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); three white flashes every 12 s. 24 m (79 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a very distant satellite view of the cape. Located on a prominent cape on the south side of the Huon Peninsula, about 65 km (40 mi) east of the port of Lae. Site status unknown. PNG-028; Admiralty K3408; NGA 112-26192.

Madang Light
Madang (Coastwatchers) Light, July 2008
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Kahunapule Michael Johnson

Oro Province Lighthouses
Oro Bay Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 133 m (436 ft); white flash every 10 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower with gallery, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the area. Located on a hill behind Eroro. Site status unknown. PNG-038; Admiralty K3424.1; NGA 112-26224.
Spear Island (Spear Point)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); white flash every 6 s. 16 m (52 ft) square skeletal tower with gallery, painted white. Craig Robbins's view from the sea is at the top of this page, and Google has a satellite view. Although listed (perhaps for historical reasons) as Spear Island, the lighthouse is actually on Spear Point, one of the several headlands of Cape Nelson, a prominent cape near the southeastern end of New Guinea. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-039; Admiralty K3426; NGA 112-26228.

Bismarck Archipelago Lighthouses

West New Britain Province Lighthouse
Note: New Britain is the largest island of the Bismarck Archipelago, which formed the heart of German New Guinea before World War I. The principal towns on the island are Rabaul and Kokopo at the northeastern end and Kimbe on the central north coast.
Cape Hollman (1)
Date unknown. Apparently inactive. 20 m (66 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, but Google has an indistinct satellite view. According to the NMSA light list, this light has been replaced by an 8 m (26 ft) fiberglass light on a pile structure off the cape. Located at the end of a long peninsula projecting from the central north coast just west of Kimbe. Probably accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-136; Admiralty K3484; NGA 111-10880.

East New Britain Province Lighthouses
Cape Lambert
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available. Located on a shoal about 10 km (6 mi) north of Cape Lambert and 120 km (75 mi) west of Rabaul. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. PNG-140; Admiralty K3492; NGA 111-10864.
* Rabaul Range Front
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft); white flash every 2 s. 25 m (82 ft) square skeletal tower with gallery, painted white. Kahunapule Michael Johnson's photo is at right, and Google has a satellite view. The rear light is in a small fiberglass cabinet on the hillside behind the harbor. Located beside a main street, 2 blocks from the waterfront of Rabaul. PNG-144; Admiralty K3498; NGA 111-10844.
Rabaul Range Front Light
Rabaul Range Light, January 2010
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Kahunapule Michael Johnson

New Ireland Province Lighthouses
Note: About 320 km (200 mi) long but rarely wider than 10 km (6 mi), New Ireland lies northwest of Bougainville and northeast of New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago. Kavieng, at the northwestern end of the island, is the principal town.
Cape St. George
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 104 m (341 ft); white flash every 5 s. 17 m (56 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view of the cape. Located at the extreme southern tip of New Ireland. Site status unknown. PNG-160; Admiralty K3514; NGA 111-10896.
Mait Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 79 m (259 ft); white flash every 10 s. 20 m (66 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a very distant satellite view of the area. Mait Island is embedded in a reef south of the northwestern end of New Ireland. Site status unknown. ARLHS PAP-014; PNG-159; Admiralty K3512; NGA 111-10900.
Steffan Strait West
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); two white flashes every 8 s. 13 m (43 ft) white fiberglass tower on a platform supported by three piles. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Steffan Strait is a narrow passage between the northwestern end of New Ireland and the neighboring island of Selapiu. Located at the edge of the reef on the southeastern side of Selapiu. Accessible only by boat. PNG-158; Admiralty K3511; NGA 111-10904.

Manus Province (Admiralty Islands) Lighthouses
Note: The Admiralty Islands (sometimes called the Manus Islands) lie to the west of New Ireland, at the extreme northern end of the country of Papua New Guinea. Manus is by far the largest island of the group.
Seeadler Harbour (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); four white flashes every 16 s. 25 m (82 ft) skeletal tower, apparently with lantern and gallery, painted white and mounted on a square concrete pad. Nawae Construction has the photo at right, and Google has an interesting satellite view. Pilot instructions refer an "old lighthouse." Seeadler Harbor, at the northeastern corner of Manus, served as a base first for the Japanese Navy and then for the U.S. and Australian Navies during World War II. The harbor is protected by a curving chain of islands. The lighthouse is located on the northeast corner of Ndrilo Island, marking the main entrance to the harbor and the town of Lorengau, the principal town of Manus. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS PAP-015; PNG-101; Admiralty K3507; NGA 111-10916.
Alim Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); white flash every 5 s. 31 m (102 ft) tapered square skeletal tower, painted white. Nawae Construction has a closeup photo, but Google has only a very fuzzy satellite view of the island. Alim Island is an atoll in the Bismarck Sea about 50 km (30 mi) south of Manus. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS PAP-013; PNG-100; Admiralty K3476; NGA 111-10928.
Seeadler Harbour Light
Seeadler Harbour Light
photo copyright Nawae Construction
used by permission

Milne Bay Province Lighthouses

Southeastern New Guinea Lighthouse
Ipoteto Island (Baku)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); two white flashes every 8 s. 20 m (66 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the island. Baku is a small settlement facing the Ward Hunt Strait, which separates the southeastern peninsula of New Guinea from the D'Entrecasteaux Islands. Located on an island sheltering the harbor of Baku. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-047; Admiralty K3432; NGA 112-26260.

Engineer Islands Lighthouses
Kegawam Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 6 s. 15 m (49 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the island. Located on a reef at the north end of the Engineer Islands, about 80 km (50 mi) northeast of the extreme southeastern tip of New Guinea. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-050; Admiralty K3438; NGA 112-26264.
Bright Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 2.5 s. 15 m (49 ft) cylindrical fiberglass tower mounted on a square platform supported by piles.No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the island. Located on a reef at the north end of the island, in the southwestern part of the Engineer Islands Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. PNG-061; Admiralty K3444; NGA 112-26292.

Kiriwina (Trobriand) Islands Lighthouses
Note: The Kiriwina Islands (formerly called the Trobriand Islands) are an archipelago in the Solomon Sea about 250 km (150 mi) north of the eastern tip of New Guinea. Kiriwina is by far the largest island of the group. Allied forces occupied Kiriwina in June 1943 to establish a base for operations against Japanese forces on the north coast of New Guinea.
Bomatu Point
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 19 m (62 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and clouds obscure Google's distant satellite view of the point. Located on the northern tip of Kiriwina. Site status unknown. PNG-049; Admiralty K3436; NGA 112-26416.
Kitava Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 107 m (351 ft); white flash every 7.5 s. 15 m (49 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and clouds obscure Google's distant satellite view. Kitava is a smaller island about 25 km (15 mi) east of Kiriwina. Located on heights near the southern tip of Kitava. Site status unknown. PNG-048; Admiralty K3437; NGA 112-26420.

Louisiade Archipelago Lighthouses
Note: The Louisiade Archipelago is a complex of islands and reefs stretching for several hundred kilometers eastward from the southeastern tip of New Guinea and separating the Solomon Sea to the north from the Coral Sea to the south. The Louisiade reefs are a grave danger to ships rounding the eastern end of New Guinea.
Strathord Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); three white flashes every 12 s. 15 m (49 ft) round white fiberglass tower. No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the island. Located at the northern tip of the Bonvouloir Islands. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-062; Admiralty K3448; NGA 112-26296.
Lunn Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); white flash every 4 s. 15 m (49 ft) round cylindrical white fiberglass tower with a square gallery. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Lunn Island is a popular destination for scuba diving expeditions. Located on a small island marking an important passage through a reef system west of the larger Louisiade islands. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. PNG-063; Admiralty K3449; NGA 112-26272.
Jomard (Pana Waipona) Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24 m (79 ft); white flash every 10 s. 21 m (69 ft) round cylindrical white tower. The lighthouse is seen about 15 seconds into a YouTube video, but clouds block Google's satellite view. This lighthouse stands on an islet marking the Jomard Entrance, a narrow passage through the reef system extending southeastward from New Guinea. The strait is about 5 km (3 mi) wide and has a depth of at least 180 m. This is an important shortcut for vessels between Australia and the western Pacific. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-064; Admiralty K3450; NGA 112-26276.
Adele Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 43 m (141 ft); white flash every 8 s. 31 m (102 ft) "white tower," according to NGA. No photo available. This lighthouse marks the easternmost island of Papua New Guinea, indicating the clear passage between the Coral Sea to the south and the Solomon Sea to the north. This may be a new light; a 2007 photo of the island does not show it. Clouds block Google's satellite view of the island and its associated reefs; open sea stretches to the east. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS PAP-001; PNG-053; Admiralty K3450.5; NGA 112-26284.

New Guinea South Coast Lighthouses

Central Province Lighthouses
Rothery Passage
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 22 m (72 ft) white fiberglass tower mounted on a platform supported by three piles. No photo available. This lighthouse marks the start of the approach through the reef system to the port of Hula. Located on a reef about 15 km (9 mi) off the south coast of New Guinea's southeastern peninsula. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. PNG-082; Admiralty K3456.7; NGA 112-26344.
Hood Point (Hula)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); two quick white flashes every 8 s. 20 m (66 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. Peter Tate's photo is at right, but Google's partial satellite view of the point does not reveal the tower. Located on the tip of the promontory on which Hula is built. Site probably open, tower closed. PNG-083; Admiralty K3457; NGA 112-26348.

National Capital District (Port Moresby) Lighthouses
Basilisk Passage (Port Moresby)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 9 m (30 ft); white flash every 5 s. 9 m (30 ft) "white lantern" mounted on a triangular platform supported by piles. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. The Basilisk Passage is a narrow gap in the reef leading to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Located at the west end of the Nateara Reef, marking the east side of the passage. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS PAP-003; PNG-090; Admiralty K3458; NGA 112-26352.
Kila (Basilisk Passage) Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 90 m (295 ft); white light, 4.5 s on, 1.5 s off. 7 m (23 ft) square concrete block tower, painted white with a black vertical stripe on the range line. Downhill from the beacon, two white triangles with a gap between them provide an additional daymark. No photo available, but Google has a good satellite view. The range guides vessels through the Basilisk Passage. The front light, described only as a beacon, may be mounted on a building near the coast, 445 m (0.275 mi) southwest. Located atop a steep ridge southeast of Port Moresby. Site status unknown. PNG-097; Admiralty K3459.1; NGA 112-26364.
Hood Point Light
Hood Point Light, January 2007
Panoramio photo copyright Peter Tate; used by permission

Bougainville (North Solomons) Region Lighthouses

Note: The largest and northernmost of the Solomon Islands, Bougainville has been struggling to gain independence from Papua New Guinea. A separatist movement led to an armed conflict from 1988 to 1997, when a peace agreement was brokered by New Zealand. Bougainville is now an autonomous region, and the agreement provides for a referendum on independence to be held eventually.
Madehas Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 137 m (450 ft); white flash every 10 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view of the island. This light marks the south end of the Buka Passage, a narrow channel separating the main island of Bougainville from the neighboring island of Buka. Located atop a small island 5.4 km (3.4 mi) southwest of the passage entrance. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS PAP-
Cape L'Averdy
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 6 s. 25 m (82 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a very distant satellite view of the cape. Located on a prominent cape at the northeastern corner of Bougainville. Site status unknown. ARLHS PAP-006; PNG-168; Admiralty K4884; NGA 111-10824.
Hospital Hill (Arawa Bay)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 87 m (285 ft); white flash every 5 s. Light mounted atop a round water tank. Nawae Construction has a closeup photo of a newly installed light, and Google has a satellite view of the tank. Located on a hillside above Arawa. Site status unknown. PNG-170; Admiralty K4884.5; NGA 111-10812.
Otua (Otsua) Islet
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); white flash every 5 s. 23.5 m (77 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on an island at the south end of a long reef complex off the east coast of Bougainville. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS PAP-012; PNG-177; Admiralty K4886; NGA 111-10788.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: Solomon Islands | South: Northern Queensland | West: Indonesian Papua

Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key

Posted July 28, 2007. Checked and revised February 23, 2012. Lighthouses: 35. Site copyright 2012 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.