Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse
 Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse and the Needle Rocks on a clear day in December 2005. | |
 | |
| Location | Off southern Tasmania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°39′26″S 146°16′17″E / 43.65715°S 146.27148°E |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1891  |
| Construction | Brick |
| Height | 13 m |
| Shape | Conical |
| Markings | White |
| Operator | Australian Maritime Safety Authority |
| Heritage | listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1891 |
| Deactivated | 1996 |
| Focal height | 140 m (460 ft) |
| Lens | First order Fresnel by Chance Brothers |
| Range | 18 nmi (33 km; 21 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl(3) W 30s |
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse was the last Australian lighthouse still being officially operated by lightkeepers. A second, smaller and automated lighthouse was installed in 1996 but it is unclear whether volunteers are going to continue to work the lights on Maatsuyker Island.
The lighthouse is located near the south west tip of Maatsuyker Island, probably because its main function originally would have been to warn ships approaching from the west and being blown in an easterly direction by the prevailing westerly winds of the Roaring Forties. Many ships were shipwrecked on the south and west coasts of Tasmania from the earliest days of sail, until the advent of modern navigation aids, because of a combination of the westerly gales and the dangerous coastline.
In 1891 the lighthouse was completed and until today it remains Australia's most southerly lighthouse. A first order Fresnel lens made by Chance Brothers was used in the lantern and is still operational.[1] From the inauguration until the installation of the automated light, the lighthouse was manned by a small staff of lighthouse keepers, who constituted the total population of the island.
Notes
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Australia: Tasmania". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
External links
- "The Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse". Lighthouses of Tasmania. Lighthouses of Australia Inc.