Lighthouses of Australia Inc

Sandy Cape Lighthouse on Fraser Island Photo: Denise Shultz

Sandy Cape Lighthouse gets a face lift

By Denise Shultz, LoA Inc President

Painting the lighthouse, c.1911 – the methods haven't changed Photo: Madeleine Leck

November 2006 – It was not our first visit to Sandy Cape lighthouse. My husband Paul and I have been going there since January 2000 when, during our first rushed visit, this northern outpost of Fraser Island succeeded in putting a deep spell on us. Six years later, we are no longer just wide-eyed tourists, but part of a dedicated group of people who come back as volunteer caretakers for stints that can take from five weeks to just a few days.

Driving up all the way from Melbourne is a two-day job, but it is always worth it, even if we can tear ourselves away for only a week or so. There is always plenty of work to do. Apart from observing and sending the weather details (which used to be seven times a day but since 2005 it is done only three times), there is the road maintenance, mowing, painting, cleaning, weeding and during the summer months, breeding turtles monitoring and nest relocation.

Geezer fixes the putty on the outside of the lantern room Photo: AMS

Sometimes we enjoy blissful solitude but most of the time, we have to share the house and the lightstation with other volunteers and rangers. Not that we mind because, invariably, they are friendly, happy, enthusiastic and interesting people. We have made many friends during our visits to Sandy Cape.

Though it looked like we’d be there alone for our latest stint, it turned out otherwise. Just before we left home, Lesley and Don (Bradley) who were at the lightstation told us that our stay would be far from quiet this time. We would be sharing the house with three workers from Australian Maritime Systems (AMS), who would be there to paint the lighthouse. We had mixed feelings about this development but in the end curiosity won - it does not happen every day that you can witness a lighthouse being painted.

The swing stage hangs halfway down the tower, whilst patches of killrust give the tower a spotty appearance Photo: Denise Shultz

With Don and Lesley’s early morning departure, we hardly had time to settle down on our second day, when two cars with four men arrived, later than expected and with only half of their gear. The rest of it got stuck with the trailer on Ngkala Rocks and had to be left there until the next low tide in the morning. Needless to say, the guys were not very impressed with the company they hired to transport their equipment. The work was delayed but the next day, the rest of the load was shuttled through the rocks on a smaller car and arrived unharmed.

First coat of paint goes on Photo: Denise Shultz

Our new housemates were Glenn Pitt from Brisbane - the painter specialist, Mark "Geezer" Wilson from Ballarat - all-around technician with years of experience and Raymond Wang from Darwin. While Glenn and Geezer were old hands in lighthouse maintenance, Raymond was on his first job and very excited about it.

Despite the initial problems with transport, the “boys” remained good-humoured and soon it became obvious that sharing the house with them would not be a problem. We managed to establish the right balance between spending time together and giving each other private space. During the day, the three hardly entered the house anyway, they were so busy working outside. Especially the first few days, they worked so hard that I suspect they even did not stop for lunch.

Glenn on the roof Photo: Denise Shultz

But the work on the lighthouse was progressing very nicely. While Raymond was scraping the peeling paint and sanding the cracks on the lower part of the lighthouse, Geezer and Glenn hoisted up the swing stage and started to prepare the upper parts of the tower.

Glenn paints the roof whilst Geezer works on the balcony Photo: Denise Shultz

Soon, the lighthouse looked like it suffered from a bad case of acne, with random spots of grey killrust primer dotting the tower. The swing stage was on the move all the time, going up and down, gradually circling all around the tower. I would have given anything to be allowed to go up with them but Geezer and Glenn were incorruptible.

By the third day, the first coat of paint could be put on. The lighthouse gradually became so blindingly white that it was almost impossible to look at it in the bright sunshine. The weather was good and the paint dried quickly, except once, when we had a downpour of 16mm in the afternoon and the work had to be abandoned for the day. At least it gave the hard working boys a chance to relax.

Raymond, Glenn and Geezer were a great team of workers and it was no wonder that despite the initial delay, they finished the work on time and did a very good job as well. They used 40 litres of white high-quality, two-pack epoxy paint for the tower, while the roof was painted a new, slightly different shade of red. The balcony now sports a fetching grey ring on its underside.

It was a great experience for Paul and I to be part of this. The AMS boys were nothing but gentlemanly in their behaviour around us and it was a pleasure to meet them. When they left, just one day before us, I was sure I was going to miss them.

As for the lighthouse, the pictures tell the story.

Glenn on the scaffolding on the balcony Photo: AMS

Raymond paints the base of the tower Photo: Denise Shultz

Glenn paints the underside of the catwalk Photo: AMS

The view from the top of the lighthouse Photo: AMS

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