Mercury Vapour Lamps

Mercury Vapour lamps are one of the only remaining street light types that were introduced in the 1950's and still in production today albeit in little numbers. That said, they are slowly being phased out, and new ones are only being placed in areas which are already dominated by white street lighting, to obviously avoid conflicts in colour.
These lamps were specifically designed for arterial roads - however some are in residential areas, usually on higher grade intersections.
The casings for these lamps come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. The most recognisable one is below (Mercury #1) - the others are restricted to parts of Australia. The Mercury Vapour lights being made today, have the same casing as some of the High Pressure Sodium lamps, so obviously the only way to tell them apart is by nightfall or via a thorough inspection of the globe.

Click on the thumbnails below for the full sized image.

Mercury #1 (circa 1950-1980's)
Locations: Everywhere
Rate of Extinction: Extremely Low

	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales
	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales
	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales
	Murwillumbah (2003) - New South Wales
	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales

The most common Mercury Vapour street light and possibly the most common street light in Australia. The casing however is a "jack of all trades" - the shape can also hold a low and high pressure sodium filament, however the Mercury Vapour globe is the most common. The fourth image shows the typical white coloured Mercury Vapour illumination.

Mercury #2 (circa 1960's-1970's) Locations: All states, but moreso in VIC, NSW and ACT Rate of Extinction: Low

	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales
	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales
	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales
	Canberra (2003) - Australian Capital Territory

Brother to Mercury #1, as it encompasses the same light globe, but in a different casing. Many of these in VIC, NSW and ACT but again, are being slowly replaced by High Pressure Sodium lamps. The case can also hold a High Pressure Sodium light fitting. The bottom image is a smaller, and less common version to the other three.

Mercury #3 (circa 1950's-1970's)
Locations: NSW, QLD and ACT
Rate of Extinction: Medium

	Gilgandra (2000) - New South Wales
	Bathurst (2003) - New South Wales
	Canberra (2003) - Australian Capital Territory
	Canberra (2003) - Australian Capital Territory

Slightly different casing to the first two. It has the same characteristics, but is less common. This type is mostly seen in Sydney, however there are a few other instances around NSW and ACT. Like Mercury #2, it can hold a Mercury globe or a High Pressure Sodium filament (less common). The bottom photo is an example found near Canberra Airport with the glass cover removed to cut down on diffusion.

Mercury #4 (circa 1950-1960's)
Locations: Melbourne and Adelaide only
Rate of Extinction: Extremely High

	Melbourne (2001) - Victoria
	Melbourne (2003) - Victoria

High on the endangered list, there are very few amounts of this Mercury Vapour species left. Incredibly, the only significant amount left is in Melbourne of all places - strange considering Victoria have replaced 99% of their arterial street lights to High Pressure Sodium. Originally capable of giving off as much white light as Mercury #1, the darker bottom case compounded by years of bug collecting eventually caused these lights to emit a dull purple colour rendering them useless.

Mercury #5 (circa 1960's-1970's) Locations: Generally SA, NSW, QLD, ACT & Melbourne Rate of Extinction: Medium

	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales
	Whyalla (2003) - South Australia
	Goomeri (2003) - Queensland
	Toowoomba (2002) - Queensland

Smaller casing of a Mercury Vapour light. Fairly uncommon light however, they are quite widespread. Not many left in Adelaide and the ACT. A substantial amount remain in NSW, and many country towns actually have a smaller, hybrid version which appears mainly on residential streets. The third photo has gear in head (power box) making the overall case larger. The photo on the bottom is a very unique version with a larger casing which acts more as a shield than as a light diffusing or shading device.

Mercury #6 (circa 1950's-1970's)
Locations: Adelaide, Melbourne, Wycheproof, Port Pirie, Whyalla
Rate of Extinction: High-Very High

	Whyalla (2003) - South Australia
	Port Pirie (2003) - South Australia
	Port Pirie (2003) - South Australia

This type is also extremely rare. Not very effective lights anymore, but similarly to Mercury #4, the bottom shield is too opaque and is susceptible for collecting dirt and bugs - simply the light that penetrates is not as strong as Mercury #1 or #2. The bottom photo shows a double light - strange considering how rare these lights are. This demonstrates how little light these give off where two are required in a 90 degree separation. Nowadays, one High Pressure Sodium lamp would cover the same area these two do.

Mercury #7 (circa 1980's)
Locations: Generally SA, ACT and NSW
Rate of Extinction: Low

	Whyalla (2003) - South Australia
	Port Pirie (2003) - South Australia

The last of the official Mercury Vapour light casings. This light prominently holds Mercury Vapour filaments, however can be home to High and Low Pressure Sodium lamps too. Introduced in the 1980's, it replaced many of Mercury #1 and quite a few Low Pressure Sodium lamps in Adelaide, but then was stopped in production when High Pressure Sodium lamps and casings were introduced. The casing is similar to High Pressure Sodium #2, except a little larger in size.

Mercury #8 (circa 1970-1980's)
Locations: SA, ACT and NSW
Rate of Extinction: High

	Canberra (2003) - Australian Capital Territory
	Canberra (2003) - Australian Capital Territory
	Port Pirie (2003) - South Australia

Slight variation to Mercury #1, although quite uncommon - characteristics are exactly the same. The bottom photo, taken in Port Pirie shows the light on a longer bracket joined to an older style stobie (power) pole which are still quite common in the Northern Territory.

Mercury #9 (circa 1940's-1970's)
Locations: Generally SA, Toowoomba, Cootamundra, Maryborough (QLD), Braidwood
Rate of Extinction: High

	Queanbeyan (2003) - New South Wales
	Braidwood (2003) - New South Wales
	Laura (2003) - South Australia
	Port Wakefield (2003) - South Australia
	Maryborough (2004) - Queensland

Mixture of very old and newer style Mercury Vapour casings. The lights on top are the newer version, however still date to the 1970's. Photo #3, taken in Laura (SA) is second youngest which superseded lights 4 and 5.

Mercury #10 (circa 1970-1980's)
Locations: Sydney-Newcastle Freeway interchanges, Taree, Tamworth, Brisbane, Highfields, Toowoomba
Rate of Extinction: Medium

	Highfields (2004) - Queensland
	Sydney-Newcastle Fwy (2002) - New South Wales

Another slight variation to Mercury #1, while in a variety of locations are very uncommon. This style comes in two sizes - this one having the smaller casing.