Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributors. Used under Creative Commons licence.
About Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse
The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the headland of Cape Leeuwin, the most south-westerly point on the mainland of the Australian Continent, in the state of Western Australia.
Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was constructed by a company led by M. C. Davies, with George Temple Poole supervising the construction of the light and designing the keepers' quarters. The light tower which is built of local stone was originally designed to show two lights – a higher white light and a lower red light. Although the foundations were completed, the lower light was never installed. It was opened with great ceremony in 1895 by John Forrest, the Premier of Western Australia. Until June 1982 the lens was rotated by a counter weight driving clockwork mechanism, and the beacon was a pressure kerosene mantle type. A radio navigation beacon was commissioned in 1955 and operated until 1992. The lighthouse was automated in 1982. The lighthouse, besides being a navigational aid, serves as an important automatic weather station. The lighthouse's buildings and grounds are now vested in the local tourism body and the single (1960s) and double (1980s) communications towers that were north-west of the lighthouse, seen in older photographs of Cape Leeuwin, have been removed.
The nearest functioning lighthouse north of Cape Leeuwin is the much smaller Cape Hamelin lighthouse, just south of the Hamelin Bay camping area.
The young Felix von Luckner, later a German World War I war hero, noted for his long voyage on the Seeadler during which he captured 14 enemy ships, was briefly assistant lighthouse keeper. The story about von Luckner at the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse has now been called into question. However, in 1938, when he visited Australia, Luckner did meet and was photographed with Mr E. Pickett—then a Customs Boarding Inspector—who it was stated had employed Luckner as an assistant lighthouse keeper, at Cape Leewin, 34 years earlier. He abandoned the job when discovered with the lightkeeper's daughter by her father.
International Lighthouse Day was celebrated at Cape Leeuwin lighthouse for the first time in 2004. The climb to the viewing deck consists of 176 steps.
Location
Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is located in Western Australia at approximately -34.37416667°, 115.13583333°. A map pin at these coordinates will take you to the approximate lighthouse site — note that some historic lights are on active marine reserves, islands or private land, and visiting may require a boat or permit.
Visiting Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse
Access to Australian lighthouses varies widely. Some are on publicly accessible headlands with car parks and interpretive signage; others are on remote islands that require chartered boats. Most operational lights managed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) are not open to the public interior, but the grounds and keepers' cottages at heritage-listed stations are often open during daylight hours.
If you're planning a visit, check with the relevant state parks service or heritage body for current conditions, access restrictions and opening times. Many of Australia's finest lighthouses are within national parks, and fees may apply.
Further reading
Read more on Wikipedia → — used under CC BY-SA 4.0. This article includes contributions from the Wikipedia community.