This is a list of lighthouses and lightvessels in Australia.
Australia has a coastline of 25,760 kilometres (16,010 mi), [1] with over 350 lighthouses and navigational aids around the Australian coastline, [2] and a single inland lighthouse, the Point Malcolm lighthouse. [3]
The first lighthouse was Macquarie Lighthouse, which was lit in 1793 as a tripod mounted wood and coal fired beacon. [2] [4] The last manned lighthouse was Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse, off the south coast of Tasmania, which was automated in 1996. [2]
The Macquarie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light, was the first, and is the longest serving, lighthouse site in Australia. It is located on Dunbar Head, on the Old South Head Road, Vaucluse in the Municipality of Woollahra local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The lighthouse is situated approximately 2 kilometres (1 mi) south of South Head near the entrance to Sydney Harbour. There has been a navigational aid in this vicinity since 1791 and a lighthouse near the present site since 1818. The current heritage-listed lighthouse was completed in 1883. The lighthouse and associated buildings were designed by James Barnet and built from 1881 to 1883.
The lighthouses and lightvessels of Australia are listed in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency List of Lights publication 111. [5] They are listed by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office on volume K of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. [6] The ARLHS World List of Lights lists them with the prefix "AUS". [7]
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency under the United States Department of Defense and a member of the United States Intelligence Community, with the primary mission of collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national security. NGA was known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) until 2003.
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is the UK's agency for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data to mariners and maritime organisations across the world. The UKHO is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is located in Taunton, Somerset, with a workforce of approximately 900 staff.
On The Lighthouse Directory, the lighthouses of Australia are listed according to their location:
New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In September 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.
The Jervis Bay Territory is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia. It was surrendered by the state of New South Wales to the Commonwealth Government in 1915 so the Australian Capital Territory would have access to the sea.
The Northern Territory is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other Indonesian islands. The NT covers 1,349,129 square kilometres (520,902 sq mi), making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 246,700, making it the least-populous of Australia's eight states and major territories, with fewer than half as many people as Tasmania.
Another listing is held by Lighthouses of Australia Inc., which lists lighthouses by state [17]
The states and territories are the first-level administrative divisions of the Commonwealth of Australia. They are the second level of government in Australia, located between the federal and local government tiers.
Another list exists at Australian Lighthouses, a website which includes both an A-Z list [25] and a list by state. [26]
A list also exists at SeaSide Lights, which lists lighthouses by state: [27]
In order to be listed below, an active lighthouse has to appear at least in one of The Lighthouse Directory, Lighthouses of Australia Inc. or SeaSide Lights. Other lists mentioned above include many lights which are hard to describe as "lighthouses". [35] Historical lighthouses were sometimes included when they are mentioned in other reliable sources.
Most of the lighthouses and lightvessels in Australia are managed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), though the AMSA usually only manages the lighting equipment, with local authorities managing the lighthouses and parklands. In New South Wales the lighthouses and parklands are mostly managed by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water or the New South Wales Department of Lands. [9] In the Northern Territory some of the lighthouses are managed by the Darwin Port Corporation. [10] In South Australia some of the stations are managed by the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. [13] In Tasmania, many lighthouses are managed by the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service. [14] In Victoria, harbour aids are maintained by the Port of Melbourne Corporation in the Melbourne area and by the Victorian Regional Channels Authority elsewhere, [36] while parklands are mostly managed by Parks Victoria. [15] In Western Australia some of the stations are managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation.
Location | Name | Image | Coordinates | Established | Automated | Deactivated | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jervis Bay Village | Cape St George Lighthouse | 35°09′07″S150°45′42″E / 35.15184°S 150.76154°E | 1860 | 1889 | Destroyed [37] |
There are several lighthouse siblings in the vicinity – lighthouses that were designed by the same architect around the same time, which are very similar by design. These include:
Most of the lighthouses in the Northern Territory were constructed by the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service during the "Golden Age of Australian Lighthouses", between 1913 and 1920. These include Cape Don Light, East Vernon Light, Emery Point Light, Cape Hotham Light and Cape Fourcroy. [50]
Of these five, three can be considered "siblings", Cape Hotham Light, Emery Point Light and Cape Fourcroy Light. They are almost identical white square skeletal towers, and they also share a similar light characteristic, three flashes every 15 second (Fl.(3) 15s). [51]
Location | Name | Image | Coordinates | Year established | Year automated | Status | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cobourg Peninsula | Cape Don Light | 11°18′28″S131°45′55″E / 11.30786°S 131.76515°E | 1917 | 1983 | active | solar powered [52] | |
Cape Fourcroy | Cape Fourcroy Light | 11°47′51″S130°01′28″E / 11.79747°S 130.02434°E | active | ||||
Clarence Strait | Cape Hotham Light | 12°02′47″S131°17′22″E / 12.04644°S 131.28946°E | 1928 | active | |||
East Vernon Island | East Vernon Light | 12°04′38″S131°05′43″E / 12.07722°S 131.09531°E | 1928 | active | |||
Larrakeyah Barracks | Emery Point Light | 12°27′14″S130°48′56″E / 12.45382°S 130.81555°E | 1900 | active | |||
Cox Peninsula | Point Charles Light | 12°23′21″S130°37′50″E / 12.38929°S 130.63068°E | 1893 | 1933 | active | survived cyclone Tracy; [53] solar powered [54] |
Most lighthouses in Queensland were constructed in well established groups:
The Cliffy Island Lighthouse is located atop Cliffy Island, a steep-sided island which is the summit of a granite submarine mountain in the Bass Strait. Cliffy Island is located about 32 kilometres directly south of Port Albert, and roughly 38 kilometres to the northeast of Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse in Victoria, Australia. The lighthouse warns approaching vessels of rocks in Bass Strait by emitting a flash of white light every five seconds. The focal plane of the lightsource and Fresnel lens is situated 52 metres above sea level. The site is managed by the Victoria Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, while the lighthouse itself is operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). The island is accessible only by helicopter, and the entire site is closed to the public.
Burrewarra Point Light is an active lighthouse located at Burrewarra Point, New South Wales, Australia, which is north of Broulee and 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the south of Batemans Bay.
Richmond River Light, also known as Ballina Head Light and Ballina Light, is an active lighthouse located at Ballina Head, a headland in Ballina, New South Wales, Australia. The headland is at the northern side of the entrance to the Richmond River. It used to serve to guide ships into the river port and is used also serves as a leading light into the river, together with a steamer's masthead lantern with a 200 mm lens which is raised on a wooden structure 30 metres (98 ft) from it.
Cape Baily Light is an active lighthouse located at Cape Baily, a headland at the south side of the entrance to Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia. The light serves in help north-bound shipping hug the coast to avoid the strong southerly currents further out to sea.
Eastern Channel Pile Light, also known as the East Wedding Cake due to its shape, is an active pile lighthouse located at the Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, off Laings Point in the Vaucluse suburb of Sydney. It marks the eastern end of the Sow and Pigs Reef.
Nelson Head Light, also known as Nelson Head Inner Light, is an inactive, unusual lighthouse on Nelson Head, a headland northeast of the town of Nelson Bay, New South Wales, Australia, near Halifax Park, on the southern shore of Port Stephens. The light guided ships into the port. Unlike other lighthouses, the Nelson Head Light has no tower, but was shown through the window of the lantern room, and later mounted outside.
Robertson Point Light, also known as Cremorne Point Light, is an active lighthouse in Cremorne Point, a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the sibling of Bradleys Head Light.
Parriwi Head Light, also known as Rosherville Light and Port Jackson Entrance Range Rear Light, is an active lighthouse located just off Parriwi Road, near Rosherville Reserve on the south side of Middle Harbour in Mosman, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the rear range light, Grotto Point Light serving as the front light, into Port Jackson. Grotto Point Light is located almost exactly 1 mile (1.6 km) in front of Parriwi Head Light.
Vaucluse Bay Range Front Light is an active lighthouse located on the east side of the entrance to Vaucluse Bay in Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the front range light into Vaucluse Bay. The distance between the lights is 945 metres (3,100 ft).
Vaucluse Bay Range Rear Light is an active lighthouse located on the east side of the entrance to Vaucluse Bay in Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the rear range light companion to the Vaucluse Bay Range Front Light, into Vaucluse Bay. The distance between the two lights is 945 metres (3,100 ft).
Shark Island Light is an active pile lighthouse located just north of Shark Island, an island in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. Its light is only visible on in the fairway of the harbour, between Shark Point and Point Piper.
Western Channel Pile Light, also known as the West Wedding Cake due to its shape, is an active pile lighthouse located at the Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, off Georges Head at Mosman. It marks the western end of the Sow and Pigs Reef. It collapsed in December 2006 and was reconstructed and restored to operation in December 2008.
Cape Hotham Light is an active lighthouse in the Northern Territory of Australia located on Cape Hotham on the coastline of the Van Diemen Gulf about 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of the territory capital of Darwin, The lighthouse marks the entrance to Clarence Strait, the eastern approach to Darwin.
Archer Point Light is an active lighthouse located on Archer Point, a conical, 60-metre-high (200 ft), grassy headland, about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) southeast of Cooktown, Queensland, Australia. Originally an 1883 timber frame lighthouse, covered with galvanised iron, it was replaced in 1975 with a modern square concrete equipment room, topped with a lantern.
Point Danger Light, also known as the Captain Cook Memorial Light, is an active lighthouse located on Point Danger, a headland between Coolangatta, Queensland and Tweed Heads, New South Wales, marking the border between New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. It lays claim to be the first lighthouse in the world to experiment with laser as a light source.
Fitzroy Island Light is an inactive lighthouse on Fitzroy Island, a continental island 29 kilometres (18 mi) southeast of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It was only active between 1973 and 1992, though a light station at the area is active since 1926 and to these days. It now serves as a visitor centre of the Fitzroy Island National Park.
Point Cartwright Light is an active lighthouse located on Point Cartwright, a point near the mouth of the Mooloolah River, in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia. It marks the entrance to the North West Channel, a deep water channel into Moreton Bay and the Port of Brisbane, and provides guidance into the Mooloolaba Harbour.
Cape Bowling Green Light is an active lighthouse located on Cape Bowling Green, a lengthy headland ending with a long low sandspit, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Ayr, Queensland, Australia. The lighthouse is at the end of the headland, near the base of the sandspit. The first lighthouse at the location, established 1874, was moved multiple times. It was prefabricated in Brisbane, shipped to the location, moved twice due to coastal erosion and finally transferred for display at the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour in Sydney.
Cleveland Point Light, also known as Point Cleveland Light, is a lighthouse located on the north-eastern tip of Cleveland Point, at Cleveland, Redland City, Queensland, Australia. It overlooks Moreton Bay to the east and Raby Bay to the west. The old lighthouse was established in 1864-1865 as a wooden hexagonal tower. It is one of only two surviving lighthouses of this form, the other being Old Burnett Heads Light. A newer light, constructed of a concrete post, replaced it in 1976, and the old lighthouse was relocated a short distance away, where it stands today. The newer light was removed in 2009.
Eborac Island Light is an active lighthouse on Eborac Island, a small rocky island in the Adolphus Channel just off Cape York, the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, Australia. It guides ships into the coastal channel inside the Great Barrier Reef. The concrete structure was built in 1921 and converted to solar power in 1990.
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