Cape Otway Lighthouse - Victoria
Posted by: 
bucketeer
S 38° 51.407 E 143° 30.710
54H E 717956 N 5696118
The Cape Otway Lighthouse was the first lighthouse built in Victoria
Waymark Code: WMDC4N
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date Posted: 12/23/2011
Views: 10
The Eye of the Needle, the narrow gap between Cape Otway and King Island, less than 90km wide, was so hazardous at least 18 ships were wrecked there.
Navigating with only sextant and chronometer, a ship’s crew would have to squeeze through the eye using only sextant & chronometer to measure their position after having not sighted land for 4 months.
In 1835 almost 250 lives were lost when the convict ship Neva foundered off King Island. In another major shipping disaster, 399 immigrants perished when the Cataraqui was wrecked off King
Island in 1845. Newspapers and the Legislative Council demanded lighthouses be built at the western approach to Bass Strait. The Cape Otway Lighthouse was built in 1848. Originally fuelled by
whale oil, then kerosene and later electricity, it shone 48kms out to sea.
The old light was in continuous use until it was decommissioned in 1994 and replaced with a close-by solar-powered automatic beacon.
The lighthouse is located in a fenced area and an admission fee is charged to visit the lighthouse, this also includes access to the lamp room, and many other areas within the compound, including telegraph station and WW2 radar building.
Coastal Lighthouse: Lighthouse
Range Lights: Not listed
LIGHTHOUSE CHALLENGE VISIT: Not listed
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