Lighthouses of Victoria

The White Lighthouse (centre), with the Hume Tower (left) and Murray Tower (right)
Photograph: John Ibbotson

The White Lighthouse at Queenscliff

The White Lighthouse at Queenscliff is the lower light of the two lighthouses at Queenscliff, and along with two steel towers guides ships through the Rip and into Port Phillip Bay.

• Operation
• History
• Access
• Surrounding Area

The Lower Lighthouse: Queenscliff
Source: Unknown

History

The white lighthouse at Queenscliff was built 1862 to replace an earlier wooden lighthouse erected in 1853.

It is built of the same bluestone that was used to build the Black Lighthouse but was painted white to distinguish it in daylight.

The new light was built in conjunction with the White (Low) Lighthouse and therefore had many similarities in design.

The lamps and housings were manufactured by Chance Brothers in England. 

The light was converted to gas in 1890 and later converted to electricity in 1924.

The lighthouse forms the front, or low, of a system of lights that gives mid-channel direction when in line with the High Light.

The light, automated, is now unmanned.

Access

The lighthouse is easily accessible from the adjacent car park behind Fort Queenscliff. There is no tours or access to the interior of the tower.

The Surrounding Area

• Queenscliff, a Bellarine Historical Society town
• The Walkabout guide to Queenscliff
• Seaview House was built from 1875 and has entertained guests continually since the 1880's.
• Queenscliff Marine Station was established in 1990 as a joint marine environmental research station.
• The Queenscliffe Maritime Centre chronicles the fascinating heritage maritime of Port Phillip Heads and it's lighthouses. Open weekend afternoons, and in school holidays 10.30 am to 4.30 pm daily.
• Marine Discovery Centre has a aquarium is stocked with local marine life (school holidays daily 10am-4pm; $1.50; (03) 5258 3344).
• The Bellarine Peninsula Railway with some locomotives and carriages that date back to the 1870's operates from the century-old Queenscliff railway station. Trains depart Sundays, and public and school holidays.
• The Queenscliff Music Festival will be on again in 1998
• The Black Lighthouse also at Queenscliff
• The Point Lonsdale Lighthouse
• Rod Cairns features the White Lighthouse

The White Lighthouse overlooks the Rip
Photograph: Ed Kavaliunas

Special Thanks to:

• Ed Kavaliunas for Photographs

• John Ibbotson for Photograph

• Winsome Bonham for Photograph

Sources:

• Brian Lord
• From Dusk Till Dawn by Gordon Reid
• The Lighthouses of Victoria by Dacre Smyth

Site constructed by: 
Malcolm S Macdonald t/as Lighthouse Computer Training & Development (1997-2001)
Copyright © All rights reserved.
1997-2001 Malcolm S Macdonald and individual contributors as acknowledged.
2002-2007 Lighthouses of Australia Inc (LoA Inc) and individual contributors as acknowledged. & Lighthouses of Australia Inc (2002-2007)