|Australia is an island continent with an
area of 7,682,300 square kilometres, or around 5.7% of the land surface of
the earth. The coastline, which is 36,735 kilometres or 22,041 miles long,
is home to over 350 'lighthouses' which have been erected over the past
200 years. This is not a large number of lights for such a long coastline
but then a large proportion of it is unpopulated and rarely visited by
As is the case in most countries, there are no longer any manned lighthouses in Australia. The last was Maatsuyker Island in Tasmania and it was de-manned in December 1995. Most lighthouses now belong to the various State Parks and Wildlife Services. Some are still operational with a caretaker who makes weather reports and maintains the property. Others are open for rental purposes and others have just been sadly left to decay and be demolished by vandals.
This web site contains a list of major Australian Coastal Maritime Navigation aids including 'traditional-type' lighthouses and the newer solar powered automated lights which have replaced quite a few lighthouses. The list shows the type of structure, position co-ordinates, height and size, age and other details but it should be noted that it does not purport to be 100% accurate nor as a reference for safety reasons. Please see disclaimer on the list page.
The site also contains lighthouse oriented amateur radio information which used to be on my other web site vk2ce.com such as the International Lighthouse/Lightship annual weekend event.
Before I go any further, if you are interested in Australian Lighthouses you should consider buying John Ibbotson's wonderful book, "Lighthouses of Australia, Images from the end of an Era. Full details are on John's web site. Not only has it got over 500 wonderful photos but there is an interesting history about lighthouses generally.
The other place to look is Lighthouses of Australia web site. This is a most comprehensive web site about Australian lights and is the joining point for "Lighthouses of Australia", a society formed for the purpose of lighthouse preservation.
The ownership and management of lighthouses in Australia is a complex issue. Some years ago all lights were under the control of the Federal Government through the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). When the lights were demanned, control of the lights was transferred to other authorities, mainly the Parks and Wildlife Services in each State. In some instances the lights were leased back by AMSA. In other instances local Port Authorities own the lights. Even the 'bible', the British Admiralty list, skirts around this issue by showing "Commonwealth (AMSA)" as the organisation responsible for maintaining lights. This is not entirely accurate and is misleading as are some other web sites which still show AMSA in this role.
These pages contain a
comprehensive list of all significant Australian Lighthouses and other
maritime lights. Around 355 in total.
Lighthouses - listed A to Z
fewer details - faster loading
Lighthouses - listed by Australian State
full details - slower loading
New Zealand Lighthouses
Pacific Islands Lighthouses (under construction)
Kangaroo Island trip
International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend (ILLW) - Rules and Entry Form
AUSTRALIAN WEB SITES
Greencape and Gabo Island Lighthouses
of Australia -
the best Oz lighthouse web site.
Cape Otway Lighthouse
Lighthouses of Western Australia
Another New Australian Lighthouse Site - some nice photos and growing. by Gary Searle
Norah Head Lighthouse, Central Coast NSW, Centenary
Australian Lighthouse Stamp Issue
OVERSEAS WEB SITES
Gary Martin Photography - probably the best photos of American lighthouses
World Lighthouse Society - a new Society based in the UK but with International members.
International Lighthouse Day
Association of Lighthouse Keepers
Lighthousing net. - a forum style web site.
WEBMASTER - KEVIN VK2CE
Member of Lighthouses of Australia,
Member #6 (I) World Lighthouse Society,
Oceania co-ordinator & webmaster for ILLW event.