NOVEMBER 2001

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Features

Lighthouses From the Air: Part 3
Preview of New Lighthouse Book

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New Pages for Australia
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New Links for World

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Montague 120th Celebrations
Cape Willoughby 150th
Deal Island Voyage
Eddystone Point Clean Up

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Features

Lighthouses From the Air: Part 3

Bound for South Australia

[David Hurburgh <hurburgh@access1.com.au>]

Lighthouses From the Air: Part 1
Lighthouses From the Air: Part 2

Preview of New Lighthouse Book

The books author, John Ibbotson.
[Photograph: John Ibbotson]

John loves photography and was first drawn to it back in late sixties when, after graduating from Melbourne's RMIT as a metallurgist, he moved to New York and later to Alaska.

The Alaskan wilderness in combination with its unique soft polar light had taken such a grip of him, that he followed bears, floated wild rivers and climbed mountains to take photographs. The results, along with his stories, appeared in Alaska Magazine, Alaska Geographic, Alaska Outdoors, Adventure Travel and National Geographic books.

When John moved back to Melbourne in 1992 he just continued to take photographs of Australia until he decided to take on the task of photographing all of the Australian lighthouses.

It took him seven years to collect the photographs and the information he needed. On his trips John closely collaborated with AMSA and had to be ready every time they called him to join a crew on a maintenance trip to a remote lighthouse.

John Ibbotson and his trusty 1976 Valiant.
[Photograph: John Ibbotson]

To complete his collection of photographs John, and his American friend Jack Bruil, drove from Brisbane to Perth. (See the LoA Bulletins from November 2000 to January 2001).

They drove 20,000 km in John's 1976 Valiant and photographed lighthouses from Cape York and Thursday Island to Cape Leveque in Western Australia.

When he could not get to the lighthouse by car or on foot he hired other kinds of transport to get there, starting from light plane and helicopter to fishing boat. To take on such a huge task required great organizational effort and ability to overcome bureaucratic obstacles.

The photograph of Low Head from John's book.
[Photograph: John Ibbotson]

All this hard work bore fruit in the form of this 288 page, 305 x 267 mm so called coffee table book, containing 500 photographs of over 220 Australian lighthouses.

To be quite fair this is not only a coffee table book full of beautiful photographs to admire. It will also be a very good reference book for lighthouse enthusiasts as well as a casual reader who wants to learn something about Australian maritime history.

The book is divided into nine parts.

Part one, The History of Lighthouses, describes separately how the towers and the lights developed over the millennia starting from Colossus of Rhodes to the lightships of twentieth century and from wood fires to today's halogen bulbs. As a person with an experience in glass manufacturing I really appreciated the part devoted to the glass as a material used in lens production. (You would be surprised how many people do not know that "crystal" is a type of glass.) This part also deals with modern navigational devices like GPS and Differential GPS.

The photograph of Eddystone Point from John's book.
[Photograph: John Ibbotson]

Part two is devoted solely to the History of Australia's Lighthouses starting with colonial lights, state lights up to 1915 Commonwealth Lighthouse service until 1990s and the lighthouse automation and demanning. The history is complete and up to date until 2000.

There are separate parts dealing with lightships, ownership changes and DGPS installation which tolled the final bell for the traditional tower based lighthouses.

Parts two to seven are the main part of the book. They contain colour photographs of Australian lighthouses, which are separated according to their state in this order.

Part two:	New South Wales
Part three:	Victoria
Part four:	Tasmania
Part five:	South Australia
Part six:	Western Australia and Northern Territory
Part seven:	Queensland

These chapters do not contain only stunning photographs. Also included are an index and one or more maps according to the size of the state area. There is information about each lighthouse photographed, which includes its date of building, height of the tower, its elevation and range. All parameters are thankfully in meters or kilometers and for those who can not cope with metric units there is a conversion formula at the end of the book. A brief history of the given lighthouse is also provided in most cases. The maps provide the reader with the geographical position of each of the photographed lights.

One of the state maps showing the location of the lighthouses.
[Image: John Ibbotson]

Part eight would be appreciated by people who, like John, want to visit as many Lighthouses and Maritime Museums as they can. This is the state by state list and available information about all the maritime museums and lightstations in Australia which are open to public. The location or the address is always provided so all one needs is a map and a bit of planning to see them all and be able to know what to expect.

Part nine which is the last part of the book contains several very useful Appendices as well as the Bibliography and Index. The first one is unique, as I did not see it in any other book so far. It contains chronological list of all the lighthouses ever built in Australia whether they are still standing or not. From this list we can glean not only the well known fact that the first Australian lighthouse was Macquarie built in Sydney in 1818 and replaced in 1883 by the one that still stands today but also that the new lights are still being built, the last one of them on Maxwell Reef near Cooktown in December 2000.

The photograph of Cape Jaffa from John's book.
[Photograph: John Ibbotson]

Another useful appendix is the glossary explaining the technical terms used in the text, explanations and the formulae used in converting nautical and imperial units into metric.

Even though John's forté is definitely photography this, (and I do not like calling it that way) "coffee table" book will be appreciated for its informative text as well as for the images that take your breath away. It has been well researched and contains some priceless and up to date information. It should be part of every lighthouse aficionado's library and like "From Dusk Till Dawn" before, it will be appreciated for years to come.

"Lighthouses of Australia - Images from the End of an Era" will be published in the end of November and can be obtained by printing, filling in and posting of the following order.

Word Format Order
PDF Format Order
HTML Format Order

Dear Malcolm Since I last emailed you about the Johnson family and the Hornby Light I have unearthed new information about the family and its association with the lighthouse. There are some name varations as we have now verified some of the research. Firstly, HENRY JOHN JOHNSON was definitely the lighthousekeeper of the Hornby Light sometime after his daughter Emily was born in 1859. The family moved to the lighthouse after her birth. Henry's son ALFRED JOHNSON was also the lighthouse keeper here and at the Macquarie Lighthouse. The family had a close connection with JAMES JOHNSON, survivor of the Dunbar wreck - either close friends or Henry Johnson's brother. Henry Johnson was a sailmaker from the Channel Islands, born c 1827. He was married to Mary KENNY, not Mary Jones as previously thought. Mary KENNY was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, [c1836] and was orphaned along with her brother during the potato famine. Her parents were Patrick and Mary KENNY, her father being a school teacher. Mary KENNY came to Australia in 1849 on the orphan ship "Lismoyne" - according to family anecdore she was the only person on the ship who could read and write. We know that after Henry died, she had to leave the lighthouse accomodation and moved to Dove House in Watsons Bay. Her daughter Maryann Johnson married to Robert Lambert lived at 17 Cliff Street, Watsons Bay. Emily Goodwin, her daughter lived in the house behind. We have been told that the family are documented in "Romance of Australian Lighthouses" by Valmai Phillips. We are still searching for more information and photographs of this family and would like to make contact with any descendants. Can anyone do a lookup for us in Valmai Phillips book? Also, Mary KENNY is mentioned in "Barefoot and Pregnant" - another book we are trying to find a copy of. Any help would be appreciated. Could you possibly correct info that was incorrect in the first email? Many Thanks Annie Lotocki nee Warner <lotocki@ozemail.com.au>

Looking for Captain Thomas Musgrave, Master Mariner, F.R.G.S.

Hi Malcolm I am doing my husband's family tree, and his great grandfather was a Lighthouse Keeper. Do you have a list of the old Lighthouse Keepers? If you do, would it be possible for you to do a look up for me? His name was Captain Thomas Musgrave, Master Mariner, F.R.G.S. He was on the "Grafton" when it went down off the Auckland Isles in 1863, and he and his men were stranded there for 20 months. On his return to Sydney he promised his wife that he would never go to sea again. I have tried unsuccessfully to find records of his whereabouts. He took up the following Lighthouses in Victoria: Lakes Entrance Harbour Master   Wilsons Promotory c1865 Gabo Island c1883 Cape Schanck (photograph on wall at Lighthouse) 1884 - 1887 Cape Otway 1887 Point Lonsdale (died there) ?1888 - 1891 I don't think that he could have possibly been anywhere else, although he did live at Williamstown as some of their babies were born there, and others died there, between 1869 - 1876 If you don't could you please tell me where I could find something about Lighthouse Keepers. Hoping that you can help me. Kindest regards Jocelyn Nice <jonice@iprimus.com.au>

Looking for the McCuspie family near Portland

Dear Sir, I wonder do you have information regarding the McCuspie family who spent some time at or near Portland on lighthouses up until perhaps early 1900s? Thankyou. Cathie Fabian (nee McCuspie) <fabes@centralonline.com.au>

Feel free to post any request, letters, notices here regarding research, events etc for any Australian Lighthouse on this notice board.

Montague Island Tours, which operates out of Narooma NSW, organised an informal open-day type celebration, with Narooma Charters and the National Parks and Wildlife (NPWS) guides taking three boat-loads of keen visitors out for the morning on the Island.

On the way, the crowd was treated to spectacular close-ups of the Island's famous fur-seal colonies, and enjoyed all the thrill of an open-sea journey in fast boats.

Landing on the Island, the NPWS guides escorted everyone up the hill to the light and the restored quarters "Museum in the Making", including a quick trip, for all those capable, up the tower and out onto the balcony for the real view from the top of the lighthouse.

Guests, June and Suzzane Cameron, taking in the aspect of the light against the nearby coastline.
[Photograph: Mark Westwood]

The southerly wind abated for the ceremony on the lawns outside the old quarters, beginning with a special welcome from local Aboriginal Elder Merv Penrith.

"The boat trip was a bit grippy today, but it was better than a bark canoe!" he said, refering to the fact that his ancestors had paddled out in bark canoes to the island for thousands of years. "We still come out here for ceremonies. It's an important place for us all the time, but I'm pleased to be here today for the 120 years get together."

The Signal Station flags 1, 2, 0, celebrate the 120th Anniversary.
[Photograph: Laurelle Pacey]

Guest of Honour was Mr Ian Cameron, retired in 1983 from his position as Supervisor of Maritime Aids (NSW) with the then Department of Shipping and Transport. He was invited both for his work in charge of maintenance for all lights in NSW, and for his personal involvement with Montague. He and his wife June, and daughter Suzanne were the centre of attention for much of the day.

Talking of his memories of Montague Mr Cameron said:

"I was born in Narooma in 1922 when my father, Jock, was a keeper at Montague. We stayed there for a few years before moving away to another light, but eventually came back in the 1930's when Dad was promoted to Head Keeper of Montague."

"A few years into our stay here and unfortunately Dad's old war wounds played up He was taken ashore and to Moruya Hospital but he died after being 'rushed'to Sydney. I say 'rushed'because the roads were in very poor condition, and it was a very slow journey."

"For our family this was the beginning of a very hard time… it was the Depression, and my younger brothers and sister ended up in orphanages until the family got back on its feet and we could be reunited."

Ian reminded us that the keepers were a special group of people across the state:

"A tight community of people sharing the common bond of caring for the lights around the coast.

It's wonderful to see the NPWS restoration work out here, and to get the special feeling you can only get on Montague. NPWS are doing a great job in caring for this place."

Guest of honour, Ian Cameron, cutting the celbration cake.
[Photograph: Mark Westwood]

Ian cut the amazing 120th cake specially iced by NPWS Guide Colin Sagar, and the whole assembly sang "Happy Birthday" with appropriate gusto, before the final stage of the ceremony - the spectacular unfurling of the old signal flags for 1,2,0 up the halyard on the lighthouse. The flags from the old Narooma Pilot Station were very fragile and dated back to the early 1900's. Unfortunately the Montague set, of larger size, has disappeared somewhere in the many years since they went out of use.

The crowd then enjoyed a sausage sizzle courtesy of NPWS before heading for a walk to the small, lonely cemetery on the Island (the graves of two children and one adult from the late 1800's) and the 9km journey home. Some boats were lucky and encountered some migrating humpback whales on the way.

Ian's insights into the workings of the light and lighthouses in general, as well as his gentle approachable manner meant that many people took the chance during the morning to chat with him about shared experiences and memories of the island. There were also many others present who had connections with the light, including several descendents of keepers, and a few of the ex-keepers and their wives.

Channel 9 filmed the proceedings, both for the local news that night and an upcoming "Saturday Today Show" to be shown on 1st December, marking the 100th anniversary of Cape Byron Light.

Bruce Conley, Head Keeper at Montague.
[Photograph: Mark Westwood]

At 3pm a small but attentive group gathered ashore at the Narooma Lighthouse Museum for a chat with Laurelle Pacey, author of the soon-to-be-revised "Lure of Montague" book. They also enjoyed the company of Bruce Conley, Head Keeper at Montague for some six years in the seventies. This meeting in front of the original beautiful diatropic lens from Montague now resident in the museum added to the day's sense of occasion.

Enthusiasts gathered at the Narooma Musuem where the original crystal lens is displayed.
[Photograph: Mark Westwood]

Later that night a dedicated, sunburnt and windblown group gathered for a dinner at the Harpoon Restaurant at the Whale Motel in Narooma for a night of quiet reflection on the day's events and more stories of the old times.

Many people purchased the special "120th Anniversary" drinking glasses to keep as mementos of the day. NPWS Narooma has glasses for sale should anyone be interested. Phone them on 02 4476 2888 for information on how to purchase them.

All involved are now looking forward to the 125th anniversary in November 2006.

Cape Willoughby 150th

On 10 January 2002 Cape Willoughby Lighthouse turns 150 years old. Cape Willoughby is the oldest lighthouse in South Australia and as a result it is worth marking this event.

Celebrations to mark the Mathew Flinders and Nicholas Baudin voyages are occurring across South Australia in 2002 (Encounter2002). Kangaroo Island will be featured in March and April 2002. It is therefore appropriate to link the lighthouse celebrations with this major South Australian event.

Cape Willoughby Lightstation today.
[Photograph Courtesy: NPWS SA]

For the week 1 to 7 April 2002 Cape Willoughby Lightstation will modify its normal tour structure to include reflections of the Flinders and Baudin voyages as well as the early times at Cape Willoughby.

It is anticipated that a pictorial display will be developed of Cape Willoughby and placed on site for this period. National Parks and Wildlife SA is therefore asking anybody who has a photograph, picture or drawing that relates to Cape Willoughby to loan it to NP&WSA for copying and returning to the original owner. All donors will be acknowledged.

The early Cape Willoughby Lightstation Cottages (c1860).
[Photograph Courtesy: NPWS SA]

These pictures and photographs will be copied and used in this display and also kept in an album for visitors to look at while visiting Cape Willoughby. The pictures will also be kept electronically on a Compact Disc for future use and to prevent damage.

Further details on the celebrations will appear as the time gets closer.

Please contact Daniel Rowley on 08 8553 8233 or 0417 822 343 or email Rowley.Daniel@saugov.sa.gov.au for further information or to offer pictures to be copied.

• A major clean up from the site of all rubbish and materials that are unlikely to be needed
• The removal of discarded material and refuse at the Lightstation.
• The carrying out of stabilization works on several recent erosion gullies in relation to the Light track, Garden Cove track and East Cove track.
• The "fencing off" of the Sea Spurge infestation at East Cove to promote soil stabilisation and native plant recovery (in order to remove the grazing pressure).
• Mapping and modifying the water system around the houses in the Light Station compound.
• Effecting the changeover of the next volunteer caretaker group and undertake minor equipment maintenance.
• Complete the repairs to the bottom floor of the Superintendents Residence.

The Old Head Superintendents Cottage.
[Sketch Courtesy: Christian Bell]

On nearby Erith Island the Australian Bush Heritage Fund (ABHF):

• Will replace the roof of the important heritage hut on the Island
• Remove rusted out rain water tanks
• Undertake weed control work and with zoologist/ herpertologist/ invertebrate ecologist
• Undertake a number of surveys while at Erith.

It is also planned to do marine debris survey while at the Kent Group.

As you can imagine space onboard the vessel is at a premium and it is worth noting that each of the participating organizations have filled or almost filled with staff or volunteers almost all positions available for the voyage. However there may just be just one or two positions or roles left to fill on the voyage for subscribers to the Lighthouses of Australia web site if you feel you have some skills that are very pertinent in relation to the field trip.

Email mccntas@ozemail.com.au with your details.

The vessel will leave Hobart at 9am, Saturday, November 24th (for a ten-day round trip), returning on Monday, December 3rd, 2001. We expect to have at least seven days in the Kent Group.

Christian Bell
Marine & Coastal Community Network

The Sir Hubert Wilkins

The ice breaker "Sir Hubert Wilkins".
[Photograph: Ocean Frontiers]

Australian Antarctic adventurers Don and Margie McIntyre, who head Ocean Frontiers, have purchased the ice-class ship (the 37 metre ice-ship) "Sir Hubert Wilkins" for a program of exploration, discovery and adventure in Australasian and Antarctic waters.

The Finnish-built Sir Hubert Wilkins will open up new opportunities for activities such as educational programs, scientific research, filming, environmental monitoring and private adventures such as exploration and mountaineering.

"Huey" is also available on charter for any activity including remote logistics support in any ocean. The project has already received sponsorship support from Dick Smith Foods.

It provides the opportunity for Australian businesses to become involved as sponsors, allowing them to be identified with projects as diverse as mapping uncharted Antarctic waters, conducting scientific and environmental research, removing rubbish from Antarctica and providing educational material to school students.

The ship will provide a "community" service in support of certain activities.

Other voyages will be conducted on a cost recovery basis, whilst some voyages will run at a profit in order to ensure that the overall program for the vessel covers its operating costs and services its capital.

The venture will depend heavily on an enthusiastic crew of highly professional volunteers who are committed to the project's aims.

[Christian Bell <mccntas@ozemail.com.au>]

The Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife organized a working bee for volunteers wishing to assist with maintenance of the Eddystone Point Light Station within Mt William National Park, to prepare the Lighthouse cottages and grounds for the WILDCARE Volunteer Caretakers Program. The working bee occurred on Saturday & Sunday, 22-23 September this year. Over twenty volunteers participated.

The Eddystone Lighthouse and historic grave.
[Photograph: Ed Kavaliunas]

The works undertaken over the weekend included -

• General building maintenance including cleaning, preparing for painting.
• Weeding and ground maintenance and gardening and tree lopping.
• Removal of general rubbish from the site.
• Fixing fences.

It is anticipated that there is a need to commence a volunteer caretaker scheme (at least for an interim measure) as the resolution of the long-term arrangements for management of the site may take some time to resolve (see September 2001 Bulletin). There have been periods throughout the last few years where there was no person present on site leaving the Light Station vulnerable to vandalism (fortunately none occurred).

An Eddystone Point keeper's cottage.
[Photograph: AMSA]

At present there is a ranger occupying the head keeper's house. The caretaker scheme is likely to commence when the asbestos roofs of the Assistant Keepers cottages are removed and replaced with an alternative roofing material, perhaps sometime before the end of the year.

For the present however Light Station is looking in much better shape than it has for the past five years full credit to the volunteers that participated in the clean up and the rangers who organized the event.

If you know of any news or event effecting an Australian Lighthouse please forward it to us so we can publish in the Monthly Bulletin.

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The NOVEMBER 01 BULLETIN was published on: 15/11/01

The bulletin is prepared in Dreamweaver 2 and tested on Netscape Messenger 4, Outlook Express (IE 5) and Eudora 5.

Lighthouses of Australia Web Site First Published: 3/12/97

Photographs & Contributions:

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