List of lighthouses in Australia explained

This is a list of lighthouses and lightvessels in Australia.

Australia has a coastline of,^[1] with over 350 lighthouses and navigational aids around the Australian coastline,^[2] and a single inland lighthouse, the Point Malcolm lighthouse.

The first lighthouse was Macquarie Lighthouse, which was lit in 1793 as a tripod mounted wood and coal fired beacon.^[2] The last staffed lighthouse was Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse, off the south coast of Tasmania, which was automated in 1996.^[2]

Listing

The lighthouses and lightvessels of Australia are listed in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency List of Lights publication 111. They are listed by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office on volume K of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals.^[3] The ARLHS World List of Lights lists them with the prefix "AUS".^[4]

On The Lighthouse Directory, the lighthouses of Australia are listed according to their location:

• Coral Sea Islands Territory
• New South Wales, including Cape St George Lighthouse which is in Jervis Bay Territory.
• Northern Territory
• Queensland's East Coast, from Townsville southwards
• Far North Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia

Another listing is held by Lighthouses of Australia Inc., which lists lighthouses by state

• Western Australia
• Northern Territory
• South Australia
• Queensland
• New South Wales
• Victoria
• Tasmania

Another list exists at Australian Lighthouses, a website which includes both an A-Z list^[5] and a list by state.^[6]

A list also exists at SeaSide Lights, which lists lighthouses by state:

• Western Australia
• Northern Territory
• South Australia
• Queensland
• New South Wales
• Victoria
• Tasmania

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".^[7] Historical lighthouses were sometimes included when they are mentioned in other reliable sources.

Management

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. In the Northern Territory some of the lighthouses are managed by the Darwin Port Corporation. In South Australia some of the stations are managed by the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. In Tasmania, many lighthouses are managed by the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service. In Victoria, harbour aids are maintained by the Port of Melbourne Corporation in the Melbourne area and by the Victorian Regional Channels Authority elsewhere,^[8] while parklands are mostly managed by Parks Victoria. In Western Australia some of the stations are managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Lighthouses by state or territory

Jervis Bay Territory

Location	Name	Image	Coordinates	Established	Automated	Deactivated	Remarks
				1860		1889	Destroyed to avoid confusion with Point Perpendicular Light.^[9]

New South Wales

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:

• Wollongong Breakwater Lighthouse and Warden Head Light, built 1872–1873, initiated by Edward Orpen Moriarty MA MInstCE
• Crowdy Head Light, Fingal Head Light, Clarence River Light (the original, now demolished), Tacking Point Lighthouse and Richmond River Light, designed by James Barnet in 1878
• Point Perpendicular Light (1899), Cape Byron Light (1901) and Norah Head Light (1903), designed by Charles Assinder Harding
• Bradleys Head Light (1905) and Robertson Point Light (1910)
• The "Disney Castles", Grotto Point Light, Parriwi Head Light, Vaucluse Bay Range Front Light and Vaucluse Bay Range Rear Light, built 1910–1911 by Maurice Festu
• The "Wedding Cakes", Eastern Channel Pile Light and Western Channel Pile Light built in 1924

Location	Name	Image	Coordinates	Year established	Year automated	Status	Remarks
				1911		active
				1866	1920	active
				1905		active
				1974	1974	active	Solar powered
				1901		active
				1910		active
				1878	1928	active
				1882		active	Solar Powered
				1872	1920	active
				1913		active
				1883	1983	1997	replaced with solar powered light tower ^[10]
				1887	1920	active
				1950		active
				1881	1986	active	Solar powered
				1911		active
				1872	1984	2003
				1854	1935	active
				1903	1995	active
				1975		active	Fibreglass structure; Solar powered^[11]
				1855	1932	active
				1899		1993	replaced with solar powered light tower ^[12]
				1862	1989	active	Solar powered
				1924		active
				1924		active
				1879	1919	active
				1913		active
				1891	1988	active
				1875	1987	active	External stairs
				1880	1975	active	Solar powered
				1873	1920	active	Battery powered, relocated
				1793	1976	active	Australia's first lighthouse
				1884		active
				1884		active
				1858	1933	active
				c.1870		1974	^[13]
				1936	1936	active
				1866	1920	active	Battery powered

Northern Territory

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.^[14]

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).

Location	Name	Image	Coordinates	Year established	Year automated	Status	Remarks
				1917	1983	active	solar powered^[15]
						active
				1928		active
				1928		active
				1900		active
				1893	1933	active	survived cyclone Tracy;^[16] solar powered^[17]

Queensland

Most lighthouses in Queensland were constructed in well established groups:

• Two lighthouses constructed using bolted prefabricated segments of cast iron: Sandy Cape Light and Bustard Head Light.
• Eight lighthouses made of hardwood frame clad with corrugated iron: Little Sea Hill Light, Grassy Hill Light, Goods Island Light, Bay Rock Light, Old Caloundra Light, North Point Hummock Light (demolished), Gatcombe Head Light (demolished) and Bulwer Island Light.
• Seven concrete towers erected between 1964 and 1979: Cape Capricorn Light, New Caloundra Light, Point Danger Light, New Burnett Heads Light, Fitzroy Island Light, Point Cartwright Light and Archer Point Light.^[18]

Location	Name	Image	Coordinates	Year established	Year automated	Status	Remarks
				1866	1959	1987	Gas, from 1985 solar power^[19]
				1867	1959	1987	Gas, from 1985 solar power
				1890	1991	active	generator powered^[20]
				1912		1983	not original site ^[21]
				1971	1971	active
				1873	1932	1971
				1869	1985	active
				1968	1969	1997
				1896	1942	1968
				1874	1920	active	original moved^[22]
				1875		active
				1879		active
				1857		active
				1976		active
				1847		1976	experimented with laser lighthouse in 1969^[23]
				1883	1979	active
				1886	1927	active
			-27.0616°N 153.3626°W	1874	1954	1960	Collapsed^[24]
			-27.1366°N 153.3628°W	1873	1950^[25]		Demolished^[26]
					1985^[27]		active
				1876		2006	First lighthouse now at Gladstone Maritime Museum
				1879	1987	active
				1884	1992	active
						active
				1943		1992
				1879	1920	2007
				1886		active
				1918		1985	Lightship; Not in service^[28]
				1873		active
				1878	1993	active
				1978	1978	active
				1884^[29]	1952^[30]	1966–1967	Structure destroyed in 1949
				1878	1978	active
				1885		1985	relocated; last working kerosene lighthouse in the world^[31]
				1971	1971	active	experimented with laser lighthouse in 1971^[32]
				1932		active
				1870	1991	active
				1886	1930	c.1992	^[33] ^[34]
				1915	1915	1990	not original site
					1938^[35]	active

South Australia

Location	Name	Image	Coordinates	Established	Automated	Deactivated	Remarks
	Althorpe Island Lighthouse			1879	1991	active	Diesel powered^[36]
				1960		active
				1883	1928	active
				1858	1989	active
	Cape Donington Lighthouse			1878		active
				1909	1957	active
				1872		1973	Screw pile; Not original site^[37]
				1871	1972	active
				1950	1975	active
	Cape St Albans Lighthouse			1908	1908	active
	Cape Willoughby Lighthouse			1852	1974	2003	South Australia's first lighthouse^[38]
				1882	1920	active
				1962	1962	active
				1878	1918	1960	Abandoned^[39]
				1883	1973	1993
	Point Malcolm Lighthouse			1878		1931	Australia's only inland lighthouse; reactivated^[40]
				1869		1901	Not original site; lit on Saturdays^[41]
				1882	1990	active
	Old Macdonnell Lighthouse			1859		1881	destroyed^[42]
	Robe Lighthouse			1972	1972	active
				1901	c.1990	active	New tower^[43]
	Tipara Reef Screw Pile			1877		1995	Not original site^[44]
				1980	1980	active
				1856	1981	2001	Under threat from erosion^[45]
	West Cape Lighthouse			1980	1980	active	Built of stainless steel^[46]
	Wonga Shoal Lighthouse			1901		1912	Destroyed^[47]

Tasmania

Location	Name	Image	Coordinates	Established	Automated	Deactivated	Remarks
				1982	1982	active
				1838		1996
						1971	Dismantled
				1899		active
				1971	1971	active
				1861	1918	active	Tallest in Australia
				1880		active	deactivated 1989–1995
				1848	1921	1992	Australia's highest lighthouse^[48]
				1889		active
	Goose Island Lighthouse			1846	1931	active
				1892	1910	active
				1892	1910	active
						active
				1924
				1832		active	Tasmania's first lighthouse^[49]
				1833	1995	active	Tasmania's second lighthouse^[50]
				1882	1955	active
				1882	1955	active
				1891		1996	Last staffed lighthouse; Australia's most southern^[51] ^[52]
				1889	1920	active
				1971	1971	active
				1968	1968	active
				1923	1980	active
				1953		active
				1845	1985	active
				1888	1920	active
				1906	1976	active
				1916		1982	Destroyed^[53]

Victoria

Location	Name	Image	Coordinates	Established	Automated	Deactivated	Remarks
				1891	1919	active
				1913	1913	active
	Cape Nelson Lighthouse			1884	1995	active
				1848		1994	Replaced with a solar powered light tower^[54]
				1859		active
				1913		1982	Solar powered
				1884	1971	active	Solar powered^[55]
	Gabo Island Lighthouse			1853	1993	active	Solar powered^[56]
	Gellibrand Pile Light			1906		1976	Destroyed^[57]
	Port Fairy Lighthouse			1859		active	Wind powered^[58]
	Lady Bay Lower Lighthouse			1854		active
	Lady Bay Upper Lighthouse			1859		active	Not original site^[59]
	Eastern Lighthouse			1854		1994
	Point Hicks Lighthouse			1890		active
				1863		active
				1889		active
				1859		1889
				1924
				1924		active
				1874		1985	relocated and reactivated^[60]
				1881		active
				1843		active	Built of bluestone^[61]
				1854		active	Not original site^[62]
				1858		active
				1840	1934	1987	Light deactivated; time ball active^[63]
				1859	1975	active	Furthest south on mainland^[64]

Western Australia

Location	Name	Image	Coordinates	Established	Automated	Deactivated	Remarks
				1951		active
				1851		1902	Demolished^[65]
				1913		active
				1858		active
				1870		active
				1967		active
				1913		c.1980	demolished
				1896	1992	active
				1911		active
				1903	1978	active	struck by ball lightning in 1907^[66]
				1965		active
				1976		1994	^[67]
				1910	1917	active
				1968		active
				1926	1976	active	replaced with beacon^[68]
				1930		active
				1906		active
				1903		active
				1905	1922	active
				1983	1983	active
				1986		active
				1888	1917	1985
				1927	1989	active
				1878	1985	active
				c.1970		active
				1967		active	on radio tower^[69]
				1974		active
				1910	1933	1936	Ruins, heritage listed^[70]
				1858		1911	Ruins, heritage listed^[71]
				1950		active
				1900	1986	active
				1851	1986	active	Australia's first rotating beam lighthouse^[72]
				1902	1955	active

See also

• List of lighthouses in the Coral Sea Islands
• Lists of lighthouses

Further reading

• News: McGrath . Gavin . Three decades after keepers retired, Australia's old lighthouses still keep watch . 23 July 2024 . . 21 July 2024 . en-AU.

External links

• Lighthouses Australia Inc. a non-profit organisation which aims to create a higher profile for Australian lighthouses.
• West Australian Lighthouse website
• Australian and Oceania Lighthouses A private web site by Kevin Mulcahy containing lists of Oceania Lighthouses with data taken from The British Admiralty vol K List of Lighthouses and Foghorns.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Australia . CIA World Factbook . 26 August 2010.
2. Web site: Australian lighthouses – Australia's Culture Portal . cultureandrecreation.gov.au . 26 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100920012933/http://cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/lighthouses/ . 20 September 2010 .
3. Book: Admiralty List Of Lights And Fog Signals vol. K Indian and Pacific Oceans, South of the Equator. United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. 978-0-7077-1764-7. 2010.
4. Web site: Australia. Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society . ARLHS.
5. Web site: Australian Lighthouses listed A to Z . lighthouses.net.au . 26 August 2010.
6. Web site: Australian Lighthouses listed by state . lighthouses.net.au . 26 August 2010.
7. See for example, Brush Island Light, a small concrete hut with an automated lamp on top of it, not listed on The Lighthouse Directory, Lighthouses of Australia Inc. and SeaSide Lights but listed on Australian Lighthouses, List of Lights, Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals and the ARLHS World List of Lights.
8. Web site: Role of VRCA . regionalchannels.vic.gov.au . 26 August 2010.
9. used as target practice for Australian warships
10. Lighthouses of Australia Inc Bulletin. Light the coast like a street with lamps. 4. July–August 2004. Steve Merson. 2 September 2014. 25 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150325194427/http://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/Bulletin/0408/Bulletin%20Aug%2004.htm. dead.
11. Lighthouses of Australia Inc Bulletin. South & North Solitary Islands Trip Report. February 2000. Ian Clifford. 2 September 2014. 7 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150307110211/http://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/Bulletin/0002/Bulletin%20Feb%2000.htm#Expedition. dead.
12. Pt%20Perpendicular.
13. Wollongong%20Harbour.
14. The Victorian Historical Journal. The Golden Age of Australian Lighthouses. 48. 2. May 1977. Michael B.. Komesaroff. reprinted in Lighthouses of Australia Inc Bulletin. 5. September 2003. The Golden Age of Australian Lighthouses. 2 September 2014. 5 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150205034242/http://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/Bulletin/0309/Bulletin%20Sep%2003.htm#Golden. dead.
15. 26 August 2010.
16. Web site: Point Charles Lighthouse and the Military Occupation of the Cox Peninsula. Mike Foley. Northern Territory Library Service. 1987. Darwin.
17. Point%20Charles. 26 August 2010.
18. 13 July 2015.
19. Web site: Woody Island Lighthouses & Ancillary Building Site | Environment, land and water. c=AU; o=The State of Queensland; ou=Department of Environment and Science; ou=Corporate. Communications. 9 June 2015. apps.des.qld.gov.au.
20. Booby_Island. 240V
21. Web site: LIGHTHOUSES . maritimemuseum.com.au . 26 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110218090913/http://www.maritimemuseum.com.au/Exhibitions/lighthouses.htm . 18 February 2011 .
22. Web site: On the waterfront . anmm.gov.au . 26 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100528211120/http://www.anmm.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1373 . 28 May 2010 .
23. http://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/QLD/Cleveland%20Point/Cleveland%20Point.htm possibly the first lighthouse to experiment with lasers, but the Point Danger Light officially lays claim to being the first, in 1971
24. Web site: Moreton Island RAN7 Indicator Loop Station and Fort Cowan Cowan . Richard Walding . indicatorloops.com . 20 February 2011.
25. 13 July 2015.
26. 24 November 2010.
27. Web site: Creal Reef Light, QLD, AN424-01. Aids to Navigation Schedule Issue 10. Australian Maritime Safety Authority. December 2006.
28. . Moored at the Queensland Maritime Museum, Brisbane
29. News: The Queenslander. 22 November 1884. Annual Report on Harbours and Lighthouses.
30. News: Notice to Mariners No. 12 of 1952. The Courier-Mail. 10 December 1952.
31. moved to Mackay not operational as a navigational lighthouse
32. Web site: Point Danger Lighthouse | Lighthouses of Australia Inc..
33. moved to Townsville Maritime Museum
34. Web site: The Bay Rock Light House – Maritime Museum of Townsville . townsvillemaritimemuseum.org.au . 26 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101129064419/http://www.townsvillemaritimemuseum.org.au/the_galleries/the_bay_rock_light_house.php . 29 November 2010 .
35. Web site: Wyborn Reef Light, QLD, AN299-01. Aids to Navigation Schedule Issue 14. Australian Maritime Safety Authority. May 2006.
36. 19 August 2010.
37. 19 August 2010. kerosene powered, non-operational
38. 19 August 2010.
39. 19 August 2010.
40. 19 August 2010.
41. 19 August 2010. This lighthouse originally stood at the entrance to the Port River in Port Adelaide. It was moved to South Neptune Island in 1901, and remained there until it was replaced in 1985. The old tower was subsequently returned to the South Australian Maritime Museum.
42. Cape%20Northumberland. 30 August 2010.
43. South%20Neptune. 19 August 2010. the original tower was returned to adelaide, see note regarding Port Adelaide Lighthouse
44. Web site: Shipwrecks and sea rescue: Lighthouses . samemory.sa.gov.au . 26 February 2007 . 26 August 2010.
45. Troubridge%20Island. 19 August 2010.
46. 19 August 2010.
47. 19 August 2010. Knocked over by a sailing ship, two lighthouse keepers were drowned.
48. At an elevation of 305 metres, deactivated 1992.
49. 19 August 2010.
50. 16 January 2011.
51. 19 August 2010.
52. Web site: Australian Lighthouses . lighthouses.net.au . 26 August 2010. De-manned in 1995
53. Lighthouses of Australia Inc Bulletin. Tasmanian Expedition Report: (Part 1 of 4). May 1999. Deborah Taylor. 2 September 2014. 4 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140204024913/http://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/Bulletin/9905/Bulletin%20May%2099.htm. dead. Accessed 19 August 2010
54. 19 August 2010.
55. 19 August 2010.
56. 19 August 2010.
57. 19 August 2010. struck by ship
58. Griffiths%20Island%20Lighthouse. 19 August 2010.
59. Lady%20Bay%20Upper%20Lighthouse. 19 August 2010.
60. Web site: South Channel Pile Light | Lighthouses of Australia Inc..
61. Black%20Lighthouse%20Queenscliff. 19 August 2010.
62. Web site: Parks Victoria: South Channel Pile Light page . parkweb.vic.gov.au . 26 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100521004208/http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1process_details.cfm?place=14#access . 21 May 2010 .
63. Williamstown%20Lighthouse. 19 August 2010.
64. Wilsons%20Promontory%20Lighthouse. 19 August 2010. Most southernly lighthouse on mainland Australia.
65. Web site: Lighthouses of Western Australia – Arthur Head . members.upnaway.com . 29 August 2010. demolished 1905
66. Web site: Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse | Lighthouses of Australia Inc..
67. inactive
68. lantern room removed, solar powered beacon installed
69. Web site: North West Cape Light on Tower 11 . members.upnaway.com . 29 August 2010. on Tower 11 of the United States Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt
70. abandoned in 1936
71. Web site: Point King Lighthouse Albany WA Conservation Plan. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110223052048/http://www.albany.wa.gov.au/download/1080. 23 February 2011.
72. Web site: Rottnest Island Lighthouse | Lighthouses of Australia Inc.. 2 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20180507015247/http://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/WA/Rottnest%20Main/Rottnest%20Main.htm. 7 May 2018. dead.