Bulletin - Vol 8 No. 6 November/December 2005

Welcome everyone to the November/December 2005 edition of the Lighthouses of Australia Inc Bulletin

Well, almost a year has passed since Lighthouses of Australia Inc was in effect turned on its head with Malcolm Macdonald's resignation from all active duty (see January 2005 Bulletin). I believe we have all picked up our respective pieces with aplomb, and we are moving in a new and exciting direction for 2006. As our President summed up in her Report for the Annual General Meeting:  "...we turned a difficult situation into a chance to make LoA a new organisation: efficient, professional and action-oriented". 

We are getting closer to developing a database archive to store the large quantities of photographs and snippets of information we have in our possession, and plans are afoot for LoA Inc and lighthouse merchandise to be available for purchase in 2006. Continual improvements to the LoA Inc website are being made, with more changes on the drawing board for next year.

2005 was a very busy year for LoA Inc and the Committee. The election of members to fill new State Representative positions was a significant change to the Committee, and has had a fantastic flow-on effect. Now those committee members most familiar with and knowledgeable about the lighthouses in their state are handling enquiries and lobbying their local politicians on the issues closest to their hearts.

LoA Inc representatives were invited to, and attended a number of events over 2005, including:

• A privileged viewing of the interior of the Eastern (McCrae) Lighthouse, Victoria, in March, followed by a blustery barbeque at the Cape Schanck Lighthouse
• An inspection of the lighthouse cottages and other buildings at Tasman Island, Tasmania in March, and again in September
• The relighting of the Wollongong Breakwater Lighthouse, NSW for Heritage Week in April
• An inspection of the Cape Otway Lighthouse, Victoria on behalf of FOCOS (Friends of Cape Otway Station) in June
• 90th Anniversary celebrations of the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service in Brisbane in July
• The opening of the Jarman Island Lighthouse, Western Australia in July
• International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend at several locations around Australia in August, including the relighting of the Point Perpendicular Lighthouse, NSW
• An official visit to Goose Island, Tasmania to inspect weed control efforts in September
• The official opening of the Split Point Lighthouse, Victoria in November
• The official opening of the Wadjemup Lighthouse, Western Australia in November

Some of our members have been busy lobbying bureaucracies about targeted lighthouses, with a significant accomplishment recently achieved at Cape Jaffa in South Australia. We have also been active in bringing the plight of several lighthouses to the attention of the media and politicians:

• Christian Bell lobbied in Tasmania on behalf of Eddystone Point, Cape Wickham and Goose Island, and helped establish the Friends of Tasman Island Group, whilst continuing his work with the Friends of the Kent Group (Deal Island)
• Robert Mock has won the battle to save the Cape Jaffa Platform, with the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse Platform (Civil Liability) Bill being passed in the South Australian Parliament.
• Ian Clifford successfully obtained and placed the correct lens inside the Wollongong Breakwater Lighthouse, making its restoration complete after almost five years
• Pauline O'Brien was successful in bringing the North Mole Lighthouse graffiti problem to the attention of the responsible authority, and participated in a working bee on the restoration of the MV Cape Don, the Western Australia/Northern Territory lighthouse supply vessel
• A new battle is looming to protect the Troubridge Island Lighthouse, with Garry Searle and others concerned about the level of corrosion in the tower

This Bulletin is another feature-filled edition, and we hope it provides you with some good reading material for the Christmas holiday season. Enjoy it, 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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