Cape Naturaliste Cape Naturaliste is a headland in the south western region of Western Australia at the western edge of the Geographe Bay. It is the northernmost point of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, which was named after the cape. The Leeuwin-Naturaliste Nat ...

, in the south west of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, is the site of a lighthouse which was activated in 1904. It was automated in 1978, but remained manned by a lighthouse keeper until 1996. It is a cylindrical tower built of limestone that still uses its original first order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

made by

Chance Brothers Chance Brothers and Company was an English glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (county), West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassma ...

. The

light characteristic A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular somewhat navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists ...

is "Fl. (2) 10 s", i.e. a group of two flashes every ten seconds, the

focal plane In Gaussian optics, the cardinal points consist of three pairs of points located on the optical axis of a rotationally symmetric, focal, optical system. These are the '' focal points'', the principal points, and the nodal points; there are two ...

is at above sea level. Another precious lens optic is displayed there, the second order Fresnel lens of the Jarman Island Light, as well as the original Great Sandy Islands beacon. Both items were originally used on the Pilbara coast further north. The lighthouse is constructed of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

quarried from nearby Bunker Bay, which was also known as the ''Quarries''.

References

Lighthouses in Western Australia Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia Lighthouse museums in Australia Museums in Western Australia Lighthouses completed in 1904 State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Busselton {{Australia-lighthouse-stub

See also

References