The Cape Schanck Lighthouse is an active lighthouse built in 1859 as the second coastal lighthouse in the Australian state of Victoria. It is located on Cape Schanck, at the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula.[1] The 21 metres (69 ft) tall tower was built from limestone. The light's focal plane is situated 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level, the light characteristic is the Morse code letter "N", a long signal of 10.8 seconds followed by a flash. Depending on the bearing of the light, the colours are either white (south to west sector) or red (east sector). Due to its powerful lantern of one million candela and a first order Fresnel lens, which was installed in 1915, the light has a range of 26 nmi (48 km).[2]
 Cape Schanck Lighthouse | |
 | |
| Location | Mornington Peninsula Victoria Australia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°29′34″S 144°53′11″E / 38.492687°S 144.886489°E |
| Tower | |
| Construction | limestone tower |
| Automated | 1987 |
| Height | 21 metres (69 ft) |
| Shape | conical tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings | white tower, red lantern dome |
| Power source | mains electricity  |
| Operator | Australian Maritime Safety Authority |
| Heritage | listed on the Victorian Heritage Register |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1859 |
| Focal height | 100 metres (330 ft) |
| Lens | 1st order Fresnel by Chance Brothers |
| Intensity | 1,000,000 cd |
| Range | 26 nmi (48 km) |
| Characteristic | Mo (N) |
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The lighthouse was not only one of the first such buildings in Victoria, it was moreover Australia's first lighthouse tower with stone stairs.[3] The Australian Maritime Safety Authority considers it the most original lighthouse under its jurisdiction.[1]
Construction
editA coastal light at Cape Schanck was authorised in the second campaign of Victorian lighthouse construction during the 1850s, alongside the lights at Wilsons Promontory and Gabo Island. The programme was a response to repeated shipwrecks in Bass Strait and was financed through intercolonial cooperation between the Australian colonies, an arrangement that has been described as a precursor to Federation.[1][4]
The lighthouse and its associated quarters were built between 1857 and 1859 by the Victorian Public Works Department, probably to a design by Charles Maplestone. Maplestone, who had arrived in Victoria in 1853, produced a closely related series of limestone keepers' residences at Cape Schanck, Wilsons Promontory and Gabo Island, with similar quarters added later at Cape Otway.[1] The 21 metres (69 ft) tower was constructed of locally quarried limestone and incorporated a stone stairway in place of the wrought iron stair more usual for Australian lights of the period.[3]
Cape Schanck forms one corner of a triangle of Bass Strait lights together with Cape Otway to the west and Cape Wickham on King Island to the south, marking the western approaches to Port Phillip.[5]
See also
edit
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 "Cape Schanck Lightstation". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Council Victoria. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Cape Schanck Lighthouse". Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Cape Schanck Lighthouse". Lighthouses of Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Cole, Sarah (2020). "Beacons of hope: Victorian lighthouses". State Library Victoria. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve". Parks Victoria. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
External links
edit
- Cape Schanck Lighthouse Official website
- Cape Schanck Lightstation at the Victorian Heritage Database
- Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Australia: Victoria". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.