An Embraer EMB-120ER, registered VH-EEB, was taxiing at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, Australia, to take off on a domestic freight charter flight to Melbourne. The aircraft was lined up with the left edge of the runway. Shortly after the take-off roll commenced, the crew reported feeling two or three bumps on the runway, after which time the crew’s attention was drawn to an electrical burning smell in the cockpit, followed by a high-speed warning. The smell dispersed and the flight continued as normal to Melbourne. Pre-flight checks for the return flight to Sydney revealed damage to the aircraft, which was subsequently found to have been caused by impact with the runway edge lighting on the left side of Sydney runway 16R, where the aircraft had started its take-off run. The aircraft was grounded at Melbourne for repair. Contributing safety factors: – The taxiway B4 left edge marking led onto taxiway B5, instead of runway 16R. – Neither of the flight crew noticed the aircraft was not aligned with the runway centreline prior to commencing the take-off roll. – An additional area of tarmac adjacent to the runway between taxiways B4 and B5, combined with reduced visual cues associated with night operations, probably created the impression that the aircraft had proceeded further into the runway than it actually had.