Cliffy Island Lighthouse
Cliffy Island Lighthouse, 1917
LocationBass Strait
17 nmi S of Port Albert, Victoria
Australia
Coordinates38°57′02.6″S 146°42′20.5″E / 38.950722°S 146.705694°E / -38.950722; 146.705694
Tower
Constructed1884[1]
Foundationgranite basement
Constructiongranite tower
Automated1971
Height12 metres (39 ft)
Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markingsunpainted tower, white lantern and gallery
Power sourcesolar power Edit this on Wikidata
OperatorAustralian Maritime Safety Authority[2]
Light
Focal height52 metres (171 ft)
LensFresnel lens
Intensity15,300 cd
Range18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 5s.

The Cliffy Island Lighthouse is located atop Cliffy Island, a steep-sided island which is the summit of a granite submarine mountain in the Bass Strait.[3] Cliffy Island is located about 32 kilometres directly south of Port Albert, and roughly 38 kilometres to the northeast of Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse in Victoria, Australia. The lighthouse warns approaching vessels of rocks in Bass Strait by emitting a flash of white light every five seconds. The focal plane of the lightsource and Fresnel lens is situated 52 metres above sea level.[4] The site is managed by the Victoria Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, while the lighthouse itself is operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). The island is accessible only by helicopter, and the entire site is closed to the public.[1]

History

Cliffy Island lighthouse was constructed on site in 1884 from granite quarried on the island. In addition to the lighthouse, there was a stone cottage for the head lighthouse keeper and his family. This structure was nearly identical to the one at Cape Nelson (they were both built in the same year, probably from the same set of blueprints). There was also a duplex wooden structure that served as the residence of the two assistant keepers and their families.[5] The keeper's houses were demolished in 1971, when the lighthouse was automated; the stone walls that surrounded the houses remain.[1]

Adjacent Lighthouses

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Australia: Victoria". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  2. ↑ Cliffy Island Lighthouse lighthouses of Australia Inc.
  3. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Australia: Tasmania". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Macdonald MS (2003). "Lighthouses of Victoria: The Cliffy Island Lighthouse". Knox City, Victoria: Lighthouses of Australia Inc. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  5. ↑ Breen W (2006). "Memories of Cliffy Island". Lighthouses of Australia Inc. Bulletin. 9 (6). Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2011.

Further reading

  • Diving Australia by Peter Stone
  • From Dusk Till Dawn by Gordon Reid
  • The Lighthouses of Victoria by Dacre Smyth
  • The Melbourne Truth
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