The donor recovered this navigation lamp before the 1980s from an old storage area in a South Melbourne factory where he worked. He asked about the lamp, but nobody there knew anything about its origin, and he was told that he could have it. This is a complete ship navigation lamp with its original oil burner. The internal red colour and shape indicate that the lamp was used for the port side of a vessel. The burner assembly is fixed to a removable tray, and the burner disconnects from the tank to allow fuel to be added. Light showing from the lamp is magnified by the polished brass reflector behind it, and the painted internal surfaces give the light its red colour. The lid on the chimney unclips for inspection purposes. The wedge shape of the lamp is intentional. It allows the light to be visible horizontally from up to a 112.5-degree angle, and to be invisible past that angle. The light's colour and position are part of the code of signals that inform viewers of the vessel’s position, direction of travel and status. The red lights indicate the port side of a vessel, green lights indicate the starboard side, and white lights are used on the masthead. From 1972, lights and signals on marine vessels are required to be fitted according to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. SEAHORSE lamp, made in Britain: The firm Bocock & Wilkinson was established in Birmingham in 1890 as an electroplate manufacturer. In 1900, Kelly’s Directory lists the firm as a ship lamp manufacturer. In 1910, the firm was listed Trading As “Seahorse” at 17 & 18 Mott Street, Birmingham. The firm later became Bocock & Son, and in 1932 was listed as George Bocock & Co. Ltd, and in 1973, it was still at that address. Ship’s navigation lamp: an original, galvanised metal, Port bow-side lamp. The wedge-shaped case has an arc front and two flat side panels that meet at the back, with a metal chimney and a swinging ‘C’ shaped handle on top. The curved, clear glass Fresnel has moulded ribs, top and bottom. The chimney has a hinged cap with a clip closure. One flat panel has a firmly attached, hollow rectangular channel for mounting onto a post or bracket. The other flat panel has a ‘D’ shaped, swinging handle, and slides upwards to access the burner assembly with its original brass burner. Concentric rings of ventilation holes are in the base. A removable tray, with ventilation holes on two edges, holds the round fuel tank and burner and the short post with the curved brass reflector. All internal metal surfaces, apart from the brass burner and reflector, were painted red sometime after the lamp’s manufacture. Inscriptions are embossed on the three brass plaques on the front; one has a rope design border and a seahorse emblem. Branded Seahorse, made in Great Britain, Ca. 1930s. Plaque on top, crescent shape: “PORT” Plaque in centre, square logo: “[rope design border] [Seahorse logo] “SEAHORSE / G B / TRADE / MARK / P55933” Plaque on base, rectangular: “PATENT NO. 546575 / AND OTHERS PENDING” flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, ship lamp, navigation lamp, masthead light, masthead lamp, port lamp, port light, bow side lamp, lighting device, navigation, marine light, marine lamp, marine equipment, marine technology, marine safety, running light, position light, code of lights, international regulations for preventing collisions at sea, antique, galvanised, seahorse, great britain, gb, patent 546575, seahorse logo, trade mark p55933, oil burner, bocock & wilkinson, bocock & sons, george bocock & co. ltd

The Marine Safety Act, Victoria requires that lights must be displayed from sunset to sunrise and in times of restricted visibility during daylight hours. A vessel's lights should indicate: what type of vessel it is, what the vessel is doing, the direction that the vessel is travelling in. E.G. For vessels under 50 m in length, a second masthead light is optional. For vessels under 12 m in length, sidelights may be a combined lantern on fore and aft centreline. Every vessel at sea must show light to indicate type of vessel, directionof travel and speed.Three metal navigational lights; red port, green starboad and clear head light. S/N Side Light (red) Elect. S/N 432 Side Light (Green) Elect. S/N 433 Head Light Elect.navigation light, marine safety, navigation, safety equipment

Kerosene lamp, masthead mooring light. Glass lense with section missing, galvanised iron construction with brass fitting marked "Anchor". Base corroded out, burner missing and top corroded. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, kerosene lamp

William Thomas George was born in Birmingham in 1884 and was a tin plate worker. He and his wife Ellene had a son Leslie Thomas George. The firm W T George & Co was formed sometime later. In 1939 his firm produced ship lamps. The Patent Number GB546575 on the lamp's plate was assigned to Leslie Thomas George in 1941 for improvements in, or relating to, ships' lanterns. From that time the patent number was affixed to their namufactured Meteorite lights. The ship navigation lamp is important as an example of the evolution of marine safety technology. Countries began passing laws and regulations in the 1830s that required ships to show navigation lights at night or in poor weather. From the late 1840s colours were standardised; red for portside of the vessel and green for starboard, a white masthead light, and a white light at anchor. By 1914 the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea was formed and continues, with decisions and notifications on improvements and changes.. Lamp; Portside ship's lamp is rounded in the front with two flat sides coming to a point at the rear. Glass has circular ridging. Metal handle with lid and clasp. The reflector has red colouring. Inscribed on fixed plates on the front, with maker's details and Patent number. This Meteorite lantern was made by W T George and Co Ltd, of Birmingham. "Port" "W T George and Co Ltd" "Sherlock Street Birmingham" "Meteorite 68990 Patented No 546575 and others pending"warrnambool, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, portside ships lamp, portside, port lamp, ship's lamp, marine lamp, navigation lamp, w t george & co, coloured lens, red lens, ship fitting, marine technology, navigation light, signal lamp, leslie thomas george, gb546575, patent gb546575, meteorite, lantern, lamp, light

A Fresnel lens is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use primarily in lighthouses.  Made from high-quality glass Fresnel lenses were used originally in lighthouses and later for many other applications They were later being used for automobile headlamps, brake, parking, and turn signal lenses, and many other applications. Fresnel lenses used in lighthouses were considered state of the art from the late 19th through to the middle of the 20th century. The subject item is a Fresnel replacement lens used in a ships navigation light. For lighthouses, these lenses have now been replaced with much less expensive and more durable aerobeacons, which themselves often contain plastic Fresnel lenses. The lens design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design. A Fresnel lens can be made much thinner than a comparable conventional lens, in some cases taking the form of a flat sheet. The simpler dioptric (purely refractive) form of the lens was first proposed by Count Buffon and independently reinvented by Fresnel. The catadioptric form of the lens, entirely invented by Fresnel, has outer elements that use total internal reflection as well as refraction; it can capture more oblique light from a light source making the light visible from greater distances.The subject item at this time cannot be associated with a historical event, person or place, provenance is unknown, the item is a replacement for a ships navigation light and it is believed to have been produced before 1950.Fresnel round glass masthead replacement lens for a navigation lamp of a ship. Nonewarrnambool, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, fresnel lens, maritime light, ships navigation light, augustin-jean fresnel, lighthouse lenses, lighthouse, navigation, warning light

A Fresnel lens is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use primarily in lighthouses.  Made from high-quality glass Fresnel lenses were used originally in lighthouses and later for many other applications They were later being used for automobile headlamps, brake, parking, and turn signal lenses, and many other applications. Fresnel lenses used in lighthouses were considered state of the art from the late 19th through to the middle of the 20th century. The subject item is a Fresnel replacement lens used in a ships navigation light. For lighthouses, these lenses have now been replaced with much less expensive and more durable aerobeacons, which themselves often contain plastic Fresnel lenses. The lens design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design. A Fresnel lens can be made much thinner than a comparable conventional lens, in some cases taking the form of a flat sheet. The simpler dioptric (purely refractive) form of the lens was first proposed by Count Buffon and independently reinvented by Fresnel. The catadioptric form of the lens, entirely invented by Fresnel, has outer elements that use total internal reflection as well as refraction; it can capture more oblique light from a light source making the light visible from greater distances.The subject item at this time cannot be associated with a historical event, person or place, provenance is unknown, the item is a replacement for a ships navigation light and it is believed to have been produced before 1950.Fresnel glass lens for a ships masthead navigation lamp. Nonewarrnambool, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, fresnel lens, maritime light, ships navigation light, augustin-jean fresnel, lighthouse lenses, lighthouse, navigation, warning light