Bart Bear's Blog

Here's another lighthouse that we have been trying to get photos of for ages. It is on South Solitary island and it is almost impossible to get to except by helicopter. It was classed as the most isolated one on the New South Wales coast. The lighthouse started operation in 1880 and has been in continuous operation ever since, except for a few days in 1942 when some ships were torpedoed nearby. We have tried to get close by boat in the past, with no success. So it was a great surprise to find that we could see the lighthouse easily from Emerald Beach, and an even bigger surprise to find that Dad could hold the camera steady enough to get decent photos at full zoom. You can see the lighthouse and the keepers' cottages and the path from the jetty. The island coast is so rugged that boats couldn't tie up there and supplies for the keepers had to be loaded into a basket that was winched up to the end of the jetty and then winched or rolled up the steep path. The light is automated now and the only visitors are maintenance crews that come by helicopter every 3 months. Maybe we will get better photos one day, but for now this will have to do.

Labels: lighthouse, New South Wales, north coast