
Location: 41°25′ S, 174°52′ E
Elevation: 87 metres above sea level
Construction: concrete tower
Tower height: 12.2 metres
Light configuration: flashing LED beacon
Light flash character: white oscillating light on for 9 seconds then off for 6 seconds
Power source: mains electricity
Range: 10 nautical miles (18 kilometres)
Date light first lit: 1935
Automated: 1989
Demanned: 1989

In 1932 it was decided to build a new lighthouse at Baring Head to serve both as an approach light to Wellington Harbour and as a coastal light for Cook Strait.
Work commenced on the buildings, the lighthouse and radio beacon towers in 1934, and the light was first lit in June 1935. The old Pencarrow light was extinguished when the Baring Head light started operating.
Baring Head was the first manned light to be built in New Zealand for 22 years. The lights built between 1913 and 1935 were all unmanned. It was also the first light in New Zealand to start operating on electricity, initially supplied by diesel generators until mains electricity arrived in 1950.



Weekly News, 20 Oct 1937. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries

In 1981, the bulk carrier Pacific Charger ran aground at Baring Head during her maiden voyage.


Baring Head light was automated in 1989 and the last keeper was withdrawn.
In February 2005, the original light and associated equipment was replaced with a new LED beacon located on the balcony of the lighthouse.
The new light is powered by mains electricity, backed up by battery power in the event of a mains failure.
The light is monitored remotely from Wellington.

In 2008, three amateur radio operators participated in International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend from Baring Head: