Deal Island Lighthouse Explained

Location:Deal Island
Tasmania
Australia
Coordinates:-39.4943°N 147.3225°W
Yearbuilt:1848
Automated:1921
Yeardeactivated:1992
Construction:granite tower
Shape:cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Marking:white tower and lantern
Height:22m (72feet)
Focalheight:305m (1,001feet)
Lens:1st order Fresnel lens
Characteristic:Fl (3) W 20s.[1]
Managingagent:Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service

The Deal Island Lighthouse is an inactive lighthouse located on Deal Island which makes part of the Kent Group National Park, Tasmania, Australia.[2]

History

Deal Island has the highest lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere, standing 305m (1,001feet) above sea level and was sometimes visible at night from Wilson's Promontory, 80km (50miles) away. The lighthouse was built in 1848 and deactivated in 1992. While active, the height caused problems with visibility in low cloud conditions.

Management and conservation is under the control of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.On 26 April 1943, during World War II, a Royal Australian Air Force A25 Airspeed Oxford aircraft crashed, killing all four crewmen. The aircraft wreck and their graves are about 15m (49feet) apart at the bottom of the cliff. The bodies have since been disinterred and buried at Springvale, Victoria.[3] Eyewitness accounts say the plane flew low over a ship which was actually a wreck, and then failed to regain enough height before hitting the cliff.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/TAS/Deal%20Island/Deal%20Island.htm#Operation Deal Island Lighthouse
  2. December 6, 2015.
  3. Web site: Picking up the wrecked pieces. The Age Online. May 2005 . Fairfax Media. 11 April 2015.