All about the Cape Willoughby lighthouse.....
Location
Cape Willoughby, the first lighthouse to be erected in South Australia, and the seventeenth lighthouse to be built in Australia, is one of four lighthouses on Kangaroo Island. It lights the Backstairs Passage, the 11 kilometre wide strip of water between Kangaroo Island and the South Australian mainland. It is located on the easternmost tip of Kangaroo Island, on the Dudley Peninsula, about 17 kilometres from the town of Penneshaw (LoA 2012).
History
Work commenced on the Cape Willoughby lighthouse in 1849, and was completed in 1852. The light was originally known as the Sturt Light after Captain Charles Sturt, a famous English explorer of Australia during the 1800’s. It is constructed from granite and limestone quarried from a cleft in the cliff at the base of the tower (LoA 2012).
Cape Willoughby was built to assist the safe and economic operation of the rapidly expanding coastal shipping trade between the eastern colonies and the colony of South Australia via Backstairs Passage. Over 50 ships have been lost along the coast of the island since the first recorded shipwreck in 1846. The largest wreck being the 5,800 ton Japanese freighter, Portland Maru, which was lost in 1935, and the most notable and tragic being the Loch Vennachar which sailed into cliffs on the west coast in 1905 with the loss of 27 crew (Tourism Kangaroo Island 2012).
Cape Willougby was first lit on the 10th day of January, 1852. The first lighthouse keeper was William Cook Cawthorne who served at Cape Willoughby between 1852-1862. The tower of the Cape Willoughby lighthouse is so broad at the base that it was said that the keepers and their families used to have parties and dances on the ground floor. The original apparatus at Cape Willoughby was a Deville lantern comprising of revolving parabolic reflectors powered by a clock work mechanism. The illumination was provided by multiple wick burners (LoA 2012).
Cape Willoughby was built to assist the safe and economic operation of the rapidly expanding coastal shipping trade between the eastern colonies and the colony of South Australia via Backstairs Passage. Over 50 ships have been lost along the coast of the island since the first recorded shipwreck in 1846. The largest wreck being the 5,800 ton Japanese freighter, Portland Maru, which was lost in 1935, and the most notable and tragic being the Loch Vennachar which sailed into cliffs on the west coast in 1905 with the loss of 27 crew (Tourism Kangaroo Island 2012).
Cape Willougby was first lit on the 10th day of January, 1852. The first lighthouse keeper was William Cook Cawthorne who served at Cape Willoughby between 1852-1862. The tower of the Cape Willoughby lighthouse is so broad at the base that it was said that the keepers and their families used to have parties and dances on the ground floor. The original apparatus at Cape Willoughby was a Deville lantern comprising of revolving parabolic reflectors powered by a clock work mechanism. The illumination was provided by multiple wick burners (LoA 2012).
In 1891, Peter Clark, a carpenter died whilst working on the original jarrah spiral staircase in the tower. He was buried at Cheltenham cemetery, however when the lease expired, the headstone was returned to Cape Willoughby, and today can be found at the lighthouse (Gravesecrets 2012).
In 1912 the light was improved when the oil wick burners were replaced by incandescent vapourised kerosene burners. In 1923, the entire lantern apparatus was replaced by a large dioptric revolving lens which floated in a bath of mercury on a pedestal to reduce the friction during rotation. This lantern, which was made by Chance Brothers of England, had previously been in use at the Tipara Reef lighthouse in St Vincent Gulf. Illumination was provided by a pressurised kerosene mantle burner (LoA 2012).
In 1959 the light was converted to electricity, when two diesel 110 volt DC generators were installed. In 1974 major alterations were made to the lighthouse. Until this point, the intention was to replace the lighthouse. It was believed at the time that Cape Willoughby was not an important light and not worthy of the cost of preservation because it was not aesthetically pleasing on the eye. The original elegant timber stair was removed due to rotting, and replaced by steel stairs with three landings. The lantern room and apparatus were removed and replaced by an aluminium and fibreglass lantern room and an apparatus comprising of banks of sealed beam lamps, and 240 volt main electricity which was connected to 15-200W sealed beams. These were arranged in 3 rows of 5 vertical beams and rotated on a pedestal giving 3 flashes in 30 seconds. The range being 23 nominal nautical miles with intensity of 420,000 candelas. A diesel 10kvA generator was installed in the base of the tower as backup to mains power (LoA 2012).
The Chance Brothers lantern was donated to the National Trust of South Australia, and can be viewed at the National Trust Museum at Kingscote and has been entered into the Register of the National Estate (LoA 2012).
Further downgrading of the light has seen the replacement of the sealed beams with a new ML300 beacon, with the lighting source being a 12V lamp of 35W. The intensity being 1,785 candela with a range of 11 nominal nautical miles. The character is now 3 flashes in 15 seconds (LoA 2012).
In 1959 the light was converted to electricity, when two diesel 110 volt DC generators were installed. In 1974 major alterations were made to the lighthouse. Until this point, the intention was to replace the lighthouse. It was believed at the time that Cape Willoughby was not an important light and not worthy of the cost of preservation because it was not aesthetically pleasing on the eye. The original elegant timber stair was removed due to rotting, and replaced by steel stairs with three landings. The lantern room and apparatus were removed and replaced by an aluminium and fibreglass lantern room and an apparatus comprising of banks of sealed beam lamps, and 240 volt main electricity which was connected to 15-200W sealed beams. These were arranged in 3 rows of 5 vertical beams and rotated on a pedestal giving 3 flashes in 30 seconds. The range being 23 nominal nautical miles with intensity of 420,000 candelas. A diesel 10kvA generator was installed in the base of the tower as backup to mains power (LoA 2012).
The Chance Brothers lantern was donated to the National Trust of South Australia, and can be viewed at the National Trust Museum at Kingscote and has been entered into the Register of the National Estate (LoA 2012).
Further downgrading of the light has seen the replacement of the sealed beams with a new ML300 beacon, with the lighting source being a 12V lamp of 35W. The intensity being 1,785 candela with a range of 11 nominal nautical miles. The character is now 3 flashes in 15 seconds (LoA 2012).
Cottages
The Seymour, Thomas, and Cawthorne cottages located at the lighthouse are named after the first keepers, with each originally catering for a lighthouse keeper and his family. They are not the original cottages, which were built closer to the coast about ½ kilometre from the light in a valley. A spring provided fresh water and it was close to the shore where supplies were landed. In 1927, due to deterioration and the hardship of reaching the lighthouse in bad weather, new keepers quarters were built closer to te lighthouse (LoA 2012). Today the Seymour and Thomas cottages are available as self catering accommodation, and will be our home for 3 nights. The Cawthorne cottage acts as a Visitor Centre.
To the top
The 27 metre high tower is open for guided tours daily.
It is 102 steps to the lookout tower, offering panoramic views of the Dudley Peninsula and beyond.
It is 102 steps to the lookout tower, offering panoramic views of the Dudley Peninsula and beyond.
Weather
- 2 days over 35 deg C
- 23 days of gales or worse (63-130 +km/hr)
- 136 days of strong winds (50+ km/hr)
- 2 days of hail
- 3 days of fog
- 8 days of thunder
- 38 clear days
- 543 mm of rain
- Highest temperature - 41.4 January 1982
- Lowest temperature - minus 1.5 June 1995
Info courtesy of:-
Lighthouse of Aust Inc, www.lighthouse.net.au
Tourism Kangaroo Island, www.tourkangarooisland.com.au
Lighthouse of Aust Inc, www.lighthouse.net.au
Tourism Kangaroo Island, www.tourkangarooisland.com.au