Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse is situated on South East Point, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. From its point on the peninsula, it commands almost 360° views of

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

. The Wilson's Promontory lighthouse is the southernmost lighthouse on mainland Australia, and is approximately from the nearest town,

Tidal River A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are caused by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it had been given a separate and another title name. Gene ...

. Dormitory-style accommodation is available in the lighthouse.Australia’s iconic lighthouses
Australian Geographic, 26 July 2010 The

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

protects shipping travelling through

. The Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse is the main part of the Wilsons Promontory Lightstation.

History

The lighthouse was constructed with the use of

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

labour over a period of approximately seven years starting in 1853 through to completion in 1859. The lighthouse stands tall and along with the keeper's cottage is constructed from local

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. From 1869 to 1878 the lighthouse keeper was Captain Thomas Musgrave.

References

External links

Parks Victoria: Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse
* Bass Strait Wilsons Promontory Lighthouses in Victoria (state) Lighthouses completed in 1859 1859 establishments in Australia Commonwealth Heritage List places in Victoria (state) Victorian Heritage Register Shire of South Gippsland {{Australia-lighthouse-stub

History

See also

References

External links