.jpg) Lightship CLS4 "Carpentaria" moored at Wharf 7,Darling Harbour. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name | Carpentaria |
| Namesake | Gulf of Carpentaria |
| Owner | Australian National Maritime Museum |
| Builder | Cockatoo Island Dockyard,Sydney,Australia |
| Laid down | 1916 |
| Completed | 1917 |
| Commissioned | 1917[1] |
| Decommissioned | 1985 |
| Homeport | Sydney |
| Fate | Preserved |
| Status | Museum ship as of late 2016 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Lightvessel |
| Displacement | 164 t (161.4 long tons; 180.8 short tons)[2] |
| Length | 21.94 m (72.0 ft) |
| Beam | 7.82 m (25.7 ft) |
| Draft | 2.74 m (9.0 ft)[3] |
| Propulsion | none |
| Complement | none |
| Notes | Career and characteristics data from “ANMM” website,[4] unless noted otherwise. |
Commonwealth Lightship 4 (CLS4)Carpentaria is alightship that was in service from 1917 to 1985 with theCommonwealth Lighthouse Service,[note 1] built at theCockatoo Island Dockyard and commissioned in 1917. The vessel is named after theGulf of Carpentaria, where it spent most of its service life together with its sister ship CLS2 (also namedCarpentaria).[3][4][5]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(January 2017) |
CLS4Carpentaria is one of four identical lightships designed in 1915 by the Scottish firmD & C Stevenson ofEdinburgh and built in 1916-17 at theCockatoo Island Dockyard inSydney,Australia; they were designated CLS1 to CLS4. The design is optimised for operating unmanned anchored at a stationary position on station offshore for prolonged periods of time, away from port.[3][4]
Carpentaria has a riveted steel hull and no superstructure, with a single mast amidships mounting the beacon lantern atop. Being a stationary vessel, she has no installed propulsion engines her and has to be towed to change position or return to port.[3][4] In 1950, CLS4 was equipped with a diesel engine to power an anchorwindlass; it was protected by a steel deckhouse added at that moment.[2]
Carpentaria's lantern was powered byacetylene gas, of which she carried a 6-month supply in 4 tanks; the gas flow was controlled by a valve which would regulate the flashes of the light according to the code assigned to the station. The gas would shut down during daylight; the beacon light could be seen from 10 nautical miles away. She also carried abell activated by the rolling motion, so it could be heard on low visibility conditions.[2][3][4][5]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(January 2017) |
CLS4Carpentaria was built at theCockatoo Island Dockyard; launched in 1917, she was put in service that year, together with her sister ship CLS2, in theGulf of Carpentaria. They would alternate between being on station and in port for maintenance.[2][3][4][5]
Later in their career,Carpentaria was assigned as traffic separator in theBass Strait, where they narrowly avoided being hit bycontainer ships.[4]
In 1985, bothCarpentaria ships were decommissioned; later they were destined for preservation: CLS2 was given to theQueensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane, QLD, while CLS4 went to theAustralian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, NSW.[3][4]
As of late 2016, CLS4Carpentaria is still part of the collection of the ANMM and is on display at the museum's wharves inDarling Harbour.[4]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(January 2017) |
| Stations |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Lists | ||
| Museums | ||
| Related | ||
33°52′05″S151°11′54″E / 33.868139°S 151.198259°E /-33.868139; 151.198259
