Monthly Bulletin January/February 2005 - Vol 8 No. 1

Keeper’s Watch Completed

Malcolm Macdonald retired keeper Lighthouses of Australia Inc Photo: Steve Merson

by Steve Merson, Chief Editor, Lighthouses of Australia Inc.

Malcolm Macdonald has retired from active service with Lighthouses of Australia Inc.

After seven years of tireless commitment to the project that he founded, Malcolm has hung up his binoculars and (figuratively-speaking) put his computer screen to sleep.

Announcing his retirement last December, Malcolm said,

“I have enjoyed and gained much satisfaction contributing to the preservation, protection and promotion of lighthouse heritage within Australia.

It has been a great privilege to share my dream, and to enjoy the support and fellowship of the others who joined me along the way.”

In his passionate pursuit of the preservation, protection and promotion of the Australian lighthouses, Malcolm has enrolled many of us in his purpose. While delegating us to research, write and edit Bulletin stories and whatnot, he directed many of us into learning curves involving computer operation, email correspondence, newsletter production, and a host of web-related tasks and actions to assist him with his vision.

The worth of Malcolm’s project has attracted people with prior connections to the Lighthouse Service. Individuals around Australia have brought their special knowledge and skills to contribute to the cause, and the former ALA lobby group, with their accumulated experience have joined forces with LoA Project. The loose band of volunteers around Australia has become an incorporated association. Malcolm has encouraged the committee to evolve and grow – to develop the structure and organisation of LoA Inc. to create an even more effective body. He has done his job.

At a recent special online meeting, the LoA Inc. committee and other members discussed the immediate issues that have arisen following Malcolm’s retirement. The official website www.lighthouses.org.au is up and running, with plans for its future use. We have transferred the archival history, information, stories, photos etc to a central location, amended the Constitution and appointed the new Webmaster. In a move to spread the organisation and lighten the load on the central committee, members in each state have volunteered to act as individual State Representatives of LoA Inc. and they have been duly elected.

Our intention is to provide a personal contact for LoA Inc. in each state - a person who is in most cases, familiar with the lights in their state, and who will have access to the archival data relevant to their part of the coast. We believe that a State Representative is better placed to direct whatever resources and assistance LoA Inc. can provide in support of the preservation, protection and promotion of the lighthouses. In time, they will be better placed to coordinate and report on meetings, events and projects in each state.

We call on subscribers of the Bulletin to JOIN NOW and create a groundswell of forward movement that will project LoA Inc. into the next stage – to become an organisation that can be called upon to really help preserve our maritime heritage.

(Note: All written enquiries to the Keeper are now being received by the Secretary, LoA Inc., who in turn will respond and/or forward the email for archiving or further response to the relevant Committee member).

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