Australian Streetlights
Welcome to the Australian Streetlights website!
Believe it or not, this has been an interest of mine since I was about 4 or 5.
Streetlights come in various shapes and styles and below I have attempted to
group them accordingly.
Gives off a dull orange colour. The first of these specimens were introduced
in the 1950's when the street light revolution began. There are approximately
15 different casing shapes for these streetlights, however the lamp size
generally has two variations (high and low wattage). It is interesting to see these lights "warm
up" as they start with a strong red and gradually change to orange over
a 30 minute time frame! While these lights were also used in areas subject
to heavy fog (the dull orange colour could penetrate the fog better than
white light), they are now a dying breed as High Pressure Sodium lamps have
become the preferred installation, although some new fixtures occasionally are
placed in some residential areas and tunnels.
Typical residential and arterial road white lighting. A favourite from the
1950's-1980's but are no longer installed - these lights gave off the same white
light that are used in household fluorescents. There were only a few different
variations but were eventually phased out due to their ineffectiveness in
lighting roads when compared to other styles of lamps.
The perennial street light. Started in the 1950's and is still in production
today although new installations are becoming rare. These lamps give off a
brilliant white light with the source being compared to a larger style household
light globe and is quite effective as long as the fittings are not too old. Still possibly the most common
style of arterial road street lighting in Australia, although will eventually
succumb to High Pressure Sodium lamps as again, they are the preferred
installation.
First used in the late 1980's, these lights are the fastest growing style
in Australia, and are set to become the standard arterial road light fixture
as they generally replace the older Mercury Vapour and Low Sodium lamps as they
burn out. The colour of these can vary a little - generally a bright orangey/pink
colour, they can also be a standard orange and also yellow.
A listing of current residential street lights used today. Some fluorescent
lamps are still in use in residential areas (primarily NSW and SA), and they are listed under
the Fluorescent link above, and not here.
Well, I couldn't think of any other name for these. Collectors items? Not
sure - well the photos in here show some of the perhaps funky and rare
styles of street lighting you will see in Australia. Some bore on ridiculous
and others look quite good.
The information in these pages is based purely upon my observations, so if there
are any errors, please let me know and I will rectify them. If you have
any comments or thoughts, please feel free to email me at krool@hotkey.net.au.
Michael Greenslade
BRISBANE
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Copyright © MG 2005