__NOTOC__ The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

located on the headland of

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders Ba ...

, the most south-westerly point on the mainland of the

Australian Continent The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and East ...

, in the state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was constructed by a company led by M. C. Davies, with George Temple Poole supervising the construction of the light and designing the keepers' quarters. The light tower which is built of local stone was originally designed to show two lights – a higher white light and a lower red light. Although the foundations were completed, the lower light was never installed. It was opened with great ceremony in 1895 by John Forrest, the

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

. Until June 1982 the lens was rotated by a counter weight driving clockwork mechanism, and the beacon was a pressure kerosene mantle type. A radio navigation beacon was commissioned in 1955 and operated until 1992. The lighthouse was automated in 1982. The lighthouse, besides being a navigational aid, serves as an important

automatic weather station An automatic weather station (AWS) is an automated version of the traditional weather station, either to save human labour or to enable measurements from remote areas. An AWS will typically consist of a weather-proof enclosure containing the data ...

. The lighthouse's buildings and grounds are now vested in the local tourism body and the single (1960s) and double (1980s) communications towers that were north-west of the lighthouse, seen in older photographs of Cape Leeuwin, have been removed. The nearest functioning lighthouse north of Cape Leeuwin is the much smaller Cape Hamelin lighthouse, just south of the

Hamelin Bay Hamelin Bay is a bay and a locality on the southwest coast of Western Australia between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste. It is named after French explorer Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, who sailed through the area in about 1801. It is sou ...

camping area. The young

Felix von Luckner Felix Nikolaus Alexander Georg Graf von Luckner (9 June 1881, Dresden – 13 April 1966, Malmö), sometimes called Count Luckner in English, was a German nobleman, naval officer, author, and sailor who earned the epithet ''Der Seeteufel'' (the ...

, later a German

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

war hero, noted for his long voyage on the '' Seeadler'' during which he captured 14 enemy ships, was briefly assistant lighthouse keeper. He abandoned the job when discovered with his hotel-keeper's daughter by her father. International Lighthouse Day was celebrated at Cape Leeuwin lighthouse for the first time in 2004. The climb to the viewing deck consists of 176 steps.

Picture gallery

Image:Cape_Leeuwin_From_North.jpg,

and lighthouse as seen from the north Image:Cap Leeuwin.jpg, Cape Leeuwin seen from the east Image:Cape Leeuwin sign.jpg, Sign at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. Image:CapeLeeuwin gobeirne.jpg, Lighthouse and cottages, Cape Leeuwin Image:FresnelLens CapeLeeuwin.jpg, The

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

in Cape Leeuwin lighthouse

References

External links

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Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse tour information

{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1895 Lighthouses in Western Australia Museums in Western Australia Lighthouse museums in Australia 1895 establishments in Australia Commonwealth Heritage List places in Western Australia Cape Leeuwin, Western Australia Heritage-listed lighthouses in Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River

Picture gallery

See also

References

External links