Lighthouses of Australia Inc

International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend 2006

• ILLW 2006 success
• Burnett Heads, Queensland
• Lighthouse Day without lighthouses

ILLW 2006 success

by Kevin Mulcahy, VK2CE, ILLW Organiser

I am pleased to report that the ILLW 2006 has been another successful event. 377 amateur radio stations from 48 countries registered with me for the event. Numerous others didn't so I don't have a complete total. Band conditions were a lot better this year. One station in New Zealand logged 1,400 contacts.

We had 30 Australian lighthouses entered this year and this was third after Germany and USA. Some countries were down compared with last year but on the whole it was line ball.

I was a bit concerned that we might not get the numbers this year owing to the absence of the chief organiser, founder and publicity man, Mike, but despite that we managed to get the word out and got the responses. I went down to Green Cape and met the team there on the Saturday afternoon and on the Saturday night I ran my usual 80 meter net and had over 25 check in including 5 lighthouse stations.

Paul Thompson, the caretaker at Cape Otway reports 500 attending his lighthouse and functions over the weekend. RAAF Williams amateur group turned up in the form of one person but they were a last minute entry.

Reports can be found on my website at http://illw.net/reports_2006.htm

Just a thankyou for the great publicity and promotion on the LoA website for the ILLW this year, 2006.

Kevin Mulcahy, vk2ce
ILLW webmaster and co-ordinator http://illw.net
Email Kevin Mulcahy

ILLW 2006 - Burnett Heads, Queensland

The old Burnett Heads Lighthouse

by Bill Carter, Queensland LoA member. All photos by Bob Wright

Not venturing far from home this year, I spent the Saturday (19 August) of International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend at the historic “old” Lighthouse at Burnett Heads near Bundaberg in Queensland with Rusty McGrath and his amateur radio crew.

Rusty kindly volunteered last year also, when I was looking for someone to get our lighthouses a little more in the public eye.

This year Rusty and his wife Joscelyn, VK4JM & VK4JJ, had a crew of five others - Ross Orpin VK4JRO and his wife Carol, Anske Beimers VK4CAB, Bob Wright VK4UD, and last but not least, Gail Lidden-Sandford VK4FGLS, a new member of their Bundaberg Club.

They set themselves a goal of making five lighthouse contacts each for the day, and I believe they easily reached it.

From left...Gail, Marge Kidd, Anske, Bob, Joscelyn, and Rusty

Bill talking to Kevin at Pine Islet Lighthouse in Mackay, Gail and Joscelyn working

The Crew working

I was the luncheon chef (bangers and eggs on the barbie) and didn’t hear any complaints, I think everyone recovered.

Special thanks to today's “keeper” Marge Kidd who spends a lot of time looking after the lighthouse. She arranged with the local council to have us there, and turns up to open it to the public on the fourth Sunday of every month, 9am to 12pm.

Email Bill Carter

Lunch time

Gail and Joscelyn hard at it

From closest... Ross Orpin (relaxed), Anske Beimers, and Rusty McGrath

Lighthouse Day without lighthouses

By Denise Shultz, LoA President

Denise Shultz and a gargoyle on the Dome of St Venceslas in the Czech Republic Photo: Denise Shultz

How to celebrate the International Lighthouse Day in a country without lighthouses?

I know the probability of that happening to a devoted pharophile is not very high, but sometimes there is no way of avoiding such a disaster. What could you do instead? Here is one way of dealing with it.

This year, I was forced by circumstances to stay with my sister Hana in Czech Republic, in the beautiful city of Olomouc. Czech Republic, my original home, is a landlocked country, from which the nearest sea would be either Adriatic to the South, or Baltic Sea to the North, both some 500km away. In Europe, that distance seems a lot longer than here in Australia.

Dome of St Venceslas tower encased in scaffolding Photo: Denise Shultz

Olomouc is a city of about 150,000 people, adorned by many churches, cathedrals and monasteries, a historical and contemporary seat of the Archbishop. From the window of my sister’s apartment, we could see the graceful shape of one of the city’s many architectural marvels, the Dome of St Venceslas. This neo-gothic cathedral’s origins go as far as early 12th century. The cathedral was rebuilt and added to many times, the last time in 1892.

Two years ago, the restorations started on the building’s three 19th century pseudo-gothic towers. The two shorter ones are already finished but this year, the focus shifted on the highest, 100m tall tower. Scaffolding was being erected and for weeks, we observed the heavy lift making its way slowly up and down, loaded with people and material taking them higher and higher every day. How could we resist such a temptation?

View from the top of the Dome of St Venceslas tower, overlooking the two shorter towers Photo: Denise Shultz

When Sunday came, my sister and I were determined to try and go for it, even though everyone thought we did not have a slightest chance. When we reached the cathedral, of course the foot of the tower was fenced off with signs forbidding unauthorised entry. No one was working and the place seemed deserted, except for the lift, which was up the tower.

We started to chat to a man who emerged from the makeshift office. I told him about the International Lighthouse Day, an unknown entity in Czech Republic, and soon we were let in to wait for the lift to come down. It did not take long and one of the workers, Peter took us back up to show us the spectacle of a breathtaking view. At the height of 80m we admired the stone gargoyles and the intricate copper tiles of the cathedral’s roof. What an experience. My sister was busy making calls to her friends who did not believe her that we could make it and who were undoubtedly green with envy. 

The conclusion? Even if you happen to be away from the sea and lighthouses during the ILLW, do not give up, find the nearest tower or observatory and go high!

Email Denise Shultz