Margaret River Lighthouses

The area around the Margaret River is a peninsula jutting out into the Indian Ocean from Geographe Bay in the north to Flinders Bay in the Southern Ocean; from Cape Naturaliste in the north to Cape Leeuwin in the south. The lighthouses at each cape still operate to protect ships traveling this part of the continent. Like lighthouses everywhere, each has an interesting history and like most, they welcome tourists. We chose to take advantage of these tours although only David actually climbed the two towers.

Sugarloaf Rock

Sugarloaf from a different angle

Our first lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste is only a few miles from Dunsborough where we are staying. On the way we made a stop at Sugarloaf Rock for a look at one of the many geological points of interest along this seashore. Sugarloaf is one of those uplifts that has been worn down over the years leaving a craggy point just offshore. We had some sun for the visit so we were able to enjoy the views. Sugarloaf’s real importance is that it is one of the few places where Red-tailed Tropicbirds nest outside of the tropics. This beautiful white seabird has a long skinny red tail that extends about ten inches beyond its normal tail feathers making it easy to identify from a distance. Of course, as has been the case elsewhere on this trip, we are just a bit early for them to begin arriving.

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

The 60-foot lighthouse extends over 400 feet above sea level and is visible over 25 miles out to sea. The tour was the most interesting lighthouse tour I have ever been on. The building was built from a kit made by the Chance Brothers in England. They supplied all the plans and the entire interior furnishings including the light and lens. Provided with the location specifics, they built the pieces at their factory in England and shipped them to various locations around the world along with step by step instructions. The lens was shipped in molasses for protection. Cleaning the sticky lens on its arrival was not a pleasant activity. The limestone blocks were quarried from a nearby stretch of beach where the cuts are still visible.

Tile on the stairs adds a homey touch

Three keepers were required to keep the light lit at all times. They worked four hour shifts every day with no breaks. If one of the keepers wanted a vacation, they were required to remove all of their belongings from their cottage before heading out in their wagon for their two weeks vacation. In most cases, the keepers chose to avoid that hassle and just continued working every day, every day.

If you look closely you can see they tiles the bottom, too.

The work was hard as they were required to be on their feet at all times so they did not fall asleep keeping the light lit. The job included carrying kerosene up to the light and regularly filtering the 400 pounds of mercury used to float the mechanism turning the lens. They also had to rewind the clock regularly. Because of the heavy weight of the light and lens, this job meant lifting a very heavy weight on a large chain. This required not a simple little key like you see on grandfather clocks, but a large crank needing the entire body to turn. While watching the light, they also had to record ships passing and the weather every 20 minutes. Failing to properly complete any of these tasks would result in a loss of job. Perusal of some of the messages sent by the keepers to their bosses in Freemantle or Canberra show that these keepers did not get along real well as they are filled with tattles like, “John left his light out from … to … on [date].”

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

For the keepers, this was a job unlike anything one could do today. The constant exposure to kerosene, mercury, and lead would lead to an early death. On top of that they had to keep the place clean and polished so the light could do its job. Regular maintenance included such things as painting the outside of the lighthouse while on a ladder or hanging from the top and such mundane things as mowing the lawn.

The Keeper's Cottages

We learn much of their story from the wives’ diaries and of course their job was no easier as it included gathering of firewood and water along with taking care of the children and homeschooling them. Cooking and cleaning would not have been easy in those days either. Neither of these lights was electrified until at least the 1950s and the kerosene was not replaced until sometime in the 1970s. At that time the keepers were no longer needed and were replaced by someone who simply turned the light on and off at the required time. Today even that is automated by a light-sensitive device.

This leaves the lighthouse to be cared for by the parks department and volunteers who lead the tours and operate the shops. Our guide was almost ecstatic as she discussed the renovations taking place. They are turning the three cottages into a new visitor center with a cafe and education rooms. She is most excited that for the first time it will be possible to get a good cup of coffee.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, some 65 miles to the south is the largest light on mainland Australia. Built in 1895 from local limestone and furnishings built in England (perhaps also by the Chance Brothers), it was converted to electricity only in 1982. Electricity did not come here until the 1970s. At the southwestern most tip of Australia where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet, this was and is one of the most important lights on the Australian Coast. Only one of the 23 shipwrecks at this spot occurred after the light was built. The freighter went down with all its cargo, but every sailor and passenger was saved in part by the extra fires built along the shore by the keepers to guide the lifeboats to safe landing spots.

Indian Ocean meets Southern Ocean

As we left, the lighthouse we saw a sign for a waterwheel so we made a quick detour to see what that was about. We found an old water wheel operated by a spring. The wheel turned a pump which supplied the water to the lighthouse cottages a few hundred meters away. No longer needed, the wheel is not covered in calcium deposits from the water that still runs over the wooden aqueduct built to supply it and the pipes to the cottages.

The Waterwheel

Flume to the wheel