Bulletin - Vol 8 No. 5 September/October 2005

Kristie Eggleston LoA Inc Webmaster and Bulletin Editor Photo: Jennifer Eggleston

Welcome everyone to the September/October 2005 edition of the Lighthouses of Australia Inc Bulletin

International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW), which by rights should be a big weekend for LoA Inc, was not the extravaganza we might have hoped for, with "official" LoA Inc activities occurring at only three of the 25+ Australian lighthouses participating in the event. However, the enthusiasm of those who did participate is evident in our ILLW report, the main feature of this Bulletin. Congratulations to our NSW representative, Ian Clifford, who spent many hours researching, organising, planning, and corresponding with bureaucracy to relight the Wollongong Harbour Lighthouse and the Point Perpendicular lighthouse for ILLW.

Denise Shultz's evocative story of her holiday at Kangaroo Island comes to a close, with the Cape Willoughby instalment. Cape Willoughby, also known as the Sturt Light, was the first lighthouse to be built in South Australia. Denise also continues her Pharology 101 Lecture series, with an article on glass, the fundamental element of lighthouse technology.

We bring good news regarding the restoration of the Jarman Island Lighthouse in Western Australia under a local redevelopment program, and the heritage listing of the Point Cloates Lighthouse, also in WA.

In international news, the USA has celebrated the re-opening of its Museum of Lighthouse History. The lighthouse movement in the USA is significantly larger than that in Australia, as they have many more lighthouses, and a larger population of people who are interested in their ongoing preservation and protection. In the UK, a local newspaper has reported that Trinity House, the organisation who manages the UK's lighthouses, may be considering replacing some lighthouses with buoys or beacons that are less expensive to maintain. More news as it becomes available will be published in future Bulletins.

In notices, friend of LoA Inc, Margaret Hill, who was a lighthouse keeper's wife in South Australia in the 1950s, has reprinted her book, "Corrugated Castles". The National Archives exhibition "Beacons by the Sea", which has been travelling Australia since 2002, is on the move again, this time to Wagga Wagga, which incidentally, is a long way from the nearest coastline.

We also have a variety of letters from readers - news that the Split Point Lighthouse is getting closer to being opened to the public, a researcher who sought photos of a South Australian ship to honour an Australian who fought in the American Civil War, compliments from a new member regarding the LoA website, a lighthouse assistant manager who is seeking a photo of a whale oil lamp, and a short snippet from another reader about lighthouses and how her daughter is named after a lightship.

Enjoy this Bulletin, and I welcome your feedback - send your comments or suggestion to me via feedback@lighthouse.net.au.

We also hope that as ongoing Bulletin subscribers, those of you who are not members will take up the opportunity to join LoA Inc, and assist us the preservation of Australia's lighthouses.

Regards,

Kristie Eggleston
LoA Inc Webmaster & Bulletin Editor

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