Bart Bear's Blog

 

 Ships leaving Hobart and heading east around the south coast of Tasmania pass the most spectacular cliffs that I have ever seen. They are made of massive vertical basalt columns that look like drainpipes. At the place where ships can head east around the end of the Tasman Peninsula is Tasman Island. This is a small island, just over a square Kilometer in area, but it is up to 300 metres high. The keepers of the lighthouse there were some of the most isolated people in Australia. The lighthouse was made from cast iron in England. It came to Tasmania as a prefabricated kit and the bits had to be hauled up those steep cliffs in rare periods of calm weather and reassembled. It is the highest (above sea level) active lighthouse in Australia. Keepers lived on the island from 1906 to 1977 when the light was fully automated. Today the keepers' cottages are falling into disrepair. The old supply gear of flying fox and tramway is in ruin, although you can still see the tracks on Google Earth. The only access is by helicopter. The best view of the site is from a cruise ship or one of the boat tours from Hobart or Port Arthur.