3.1 General history of lighthouses in Australia
The first lighthouse to be constructed along Australian soil was Macquarie Lighthouse, located at the entrance to Port Jackson, NSW. First lit in 1818, the cost of the lighthouse was recovered through the introduction of a levy on shipping. This was instigated by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who ordered and named the light.
The following century oversaw the construction of hundreds of lighthouses around the country. Constructing and maintaining a lighthouse were costly ventures that often required the financial support of multiple colonies. However, they were deemed necessary aids in assisting the safety of mariners at sea. Lighthouses were firstly managed by the colony they lay within, with each colony developing their own style of lighthouse and operational system. Following Federation in 1901, which saw the various colonies unite under one Commonwealth government, lighthouse management was transferred from state hands to the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service.
Lamps and optics: an overview
Lighthouse technology has altered drastically over the centuries. Eighteenth century lighthouses were lit using parabolic mirrors and oil lamps. Documentation of early examples of parabolic mirrors in the United Kingdom, circa 1760, were documented as consisting of wood and lined with pieces of looking glass or plates of tin. As described by Searle, ’When light hits a shiny surface, it is reflected at an angle equal to that at which it hit. With a light source is placed in the focal point of a parabolic reflector, the light rays are reflected parallel to one another, producing a concentrated beam’.
In 1822, Augustin Fresnel invented the dioptric glass lens. By crafting concentric annular rings with a convex lens, Fresnel had discovered a method of reducing the amount of light absorbed by a lens. The Dioptric System was adopted quickly with Cordouran Lighthouse (France), which was fitted with the first dioptric lens in 1823. The majority of heritage-listed lighthouses in Australia house dioptric lenses made by others such as Chance Brothers (United Kingdom), Henry-LePaute (France), Barbier,
Bernard & Turenne (BBT, France) and Svenska Aktiebolaget Gasaccumulator (AGA of Sweden). These lenses were made in a range of standard sizes, called orders—see ‘Appendix 2. Glossary of lighthouse Terms relevant to Table Cape Lighthouse’.
Early Australian lighthouses were originally fuelled by whale oil and burned in Argand lamps, and multiple wicks were required in order to create a large flame that could be observed from sea. By the 1850s, whale oil had been replaced by colza oil, which was in turn replaced by kerosene, a mineral oil.
In 1900, incandescent burners were introduced. This saw the burning of fuel inside an incandescent mantle, which produced a brighter light with less fuel within a smaller volume. Light keepers were required to maintain pressure to the burner by manually pumping a handle as can be seen in Figure 10.
In 1912, Swedish engineer Gustaf Dalén, was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for a series of inventions relating to acetylene-powered navigation lights. Dalén’s system included the sun valve, the mixer, the flasher, and the cylinder containing compressed acetylene. Due to their efficiency and reliability, Dalén’s inventions led to the gradual destaffinh of lighthouses. Acetylene was quickly adopted by the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service from 1915 onwards.
Large dioptric lenses, such as that shown in Figure 11, gradually decreased in popularity due to cost and the move towards unmanned automatic lighthouses. By the early 1900s, Australia had stopped ordering these lenses with the last installed at Eclipse Island in Western Australia in 1927. Smaller Fresnel lenses continued to be produced and installed until the 1970s when plastic lanterns, still utilising Fresnel’s technology, were favoured instead. Acetylene remained in use until it was finally phased out in the 1990s.
In the current day, Australian lighthouses are lit and extinguished automatically using mains power, diesel generators, and solar-voltaic systems.
3.2 The Commonwealth Lighthouse Service
When the Australian colonies federated in 1901, it was decided that the new Commonwealth government would be responsible for coastal lighthouses—that is, major lights used by vessels travelling from port to port—but not the minor lights used for navigation within harbours and rivers. There was a delay before this new arrangement came into effect. Existing lights continued to be operated by the states.
Since 1915, various Commonwealth departments have managed lighthouses. AMSA, established under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990 (Cth), is now responsible for operating Commonwealth lighthouses and other aids to navigation, along with its other functions.
3.3 Tasmanian lighthouse management
The table below details the authorities of Tasmanian lighthouse management from 1915 to present.
Time Period |
Administration |
1915-1927: |
Lighthouse District No. 3 (Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania), Hobart Headquarters. |
1927-1963: |
Deputy Director of Lighthouses and Navigation, Tasmania. |
1963-1972: |
Department of Shipping and Transport, Regional Controller, Tasmania. |
1972-1982: |
Department of Transport [III], Regional Controller, Tasmania. |
1982-1983: |
Department of Transport and Construction. Victoria-Tasmania Region, Transport Division (Tasmania) |
1983-1985 |
Department of Transport [IV] Victoria-Tasmania Region, Hobart Office. |
1985-1987: |
Department of Transport [IV] Tasmanian Region. |
1987-1990: |
Department of Transport and Communications, Tasmanian Region. |
1991- | Australian Marine Safety Authority. |
3.4 Table Cape: a history
Aboriginal history
Further consultation with traditional stakeholders is required.
There are two Aboriginal heritage sites (middens) that are recorded along the existing walking track between the Lookout and Table Cape Lighthouse. The middens are recorded under the Tasmanian Aboriginal Site Index as AHR9172 and AHR9257.
It is understood that the nearby Freestone Cove was used as a site for stone tidal fish traps.8
Early European history
In 1798, British navigator and cartographer Matthew Flinders, and British explorer George Bass, traversed Bass Strait aboard the sloop Norfolk. After sighting a noticeable, flat-topped promontory along the northern coastline of Van Diemen’s Land, they named it Table Cape.
The area remained strictly inhabited by the local Aboriginal groups until the mid-1850s.9
In 1852, The Courier reported:
We perceive that about 1600 acres of land at Table Cape, Emu Bay, is offered to be let for the term of seven years at 5s. per acre; or to meet the convenience of all parties, the proprietor will let it in allotments from 10 acres and upwards for the term of five years, the first two years rent free. The proprietor to buy the grain at the Launceston market prices, allowing a deduction of 4d. per bushel for tonnage.10
By 1856, a European colony had established itself along the Cape and surrounding region.
The Courier documented statements made by Sir H. Fox Young, Governor-in-chief of the Island of Tasmania and dependencies, in response to the Reverend George Wilkinson, a key settler at Table Cape:
I am rejoiced to find that the land upon which you have settled is of so productive a character, and it will afford me much pleasure to do all I can for the benefit of your neighbourhood….
This very spot, Table Cape, is a striking instance of what may be done by individual enterprise when facilities are accorded for the cultivation of soil.11
A schoolroom, church, residential dwellings and farms were established on Table Cape as a steady population thrived over the 19th and 20th centuries.12
3.5 Planning a lighthouse
Why Table Cape?
By the late 1870s and early 1880s, the adjacent port of Wynyard had grown into the biggest port along the north-west coast. Between 1869-1870, signal lamps, also known as iron beacons, were installed near the mouth of the Inglis River. However, by the mid-to-late 19th century, calls for a lighthouse had increased following the wrecking of the Emma Prescott (1867) and the Orson (1884).13
The Tasmanian newspaper detailed these calls, reporting:
Rocky Cape (also known as Rocky Head), which had garnered some support amongst shipmasters, lay approximately 20 km north-west of Table Cape along the Tasmanian coastline. The site was considered unwise for a light due to the lack of anchorage nearby, and the presence of a ‘dangerous rock’ with which a vessel could strike itself on whilst travelling by the light.15
Table Cape was recognised as a prime position to alert incoming vessels to the west of Wynyard’s port. Rising approximately 500 ft. above sea level, the Cape offered a good vantage over the southern region of the Bass Strait, as well as suitable anchorage for vessels.16
Mr Climie reportedly stated at a meeting of the Launceston Marine Board:
Despite the ever-insistent requests for a lighthouse, the various marine boards of Tasmania were reluctant to action the works claiming “there was no necessity at present for a light at Table Cape”.18
Eventually in 1880, the erection of a light on Table Cape was put towards the Consolidated Marine Board, a board comprised of members from both the Launceston and Hobart Marine Boards. Finally, the motion was accepted and by early 1883, a site on Table Cape had been inspected, selected and cleared.19
Design and construction
The design for Table Cape Lighthouse was originally tasked to a Mr H. Conway, who visited the chosen site in 1883. Conway’s design was never completed and eventually in 1886, the Marine Board Architect, Mr. R. Huckson of Huckson & Hutchinson, was given the responsibility of designing the lighthouse. His designs displayed a brick structure approximately 50 ft. in height with two accompanying cottages.20
On 9 February 1887, tenders were called for the construction of the lighthouse. The original estimate for the works was placed at £7,000, and Mr. John Luck’s tender of £4240 5s. 11d. was accepted for construction of the tower and keepers quarters.21 Construction began that same year. Approximately 110,000 red vitrified bricks were imported from Victoria for the construction of the lighthouse, and a hydraulic ram pumped water from the nearby creek to the site.22
Huckson & Hutchinson Huckson & Hutchinson was founded in 1887 by Robert Huckson and R. Hutchinson. The firm was responsible for the design of many Tasmanian lighthouses including Table Cape, Mersey Bluff, Eddystone Point, Maatsuyker, Cape Sorrell, and Low Head. The firm also designed various alterations and necessary repairs to lightstations across the state. |
Equipment when built
Upon completion, the lightstation consisted of the tower, a flagstaff, and two cottages to house the head keeper, assistant keepers, and their families.
The tower stood at 45 ft. in height, and the lantern at 25 ft. A vaulted chamber was constructed at the base of the tower to be used as a storeroom with an iron spiral staircase made up of 65 steps leading to the lantern room.23
The following was the ‘Notice to Mariners’ published in The Mercury newspaper on 30 April 1888:
The light was a 2nd Order Chance Bros. Catadioptric 700 mm focal radius lens, and was first exhibited on 1 August 1888. 25
3.6 Lighthouse keeping
Lighthouse keeping was observed to be a valuable profession within local communities. Keepers would operate on shifts, taking it in turns to tend to the light through the night and watch for distressed vessels. It was often an isolating ordeal with very little contact with the surrounding communities. Stationed on-site within the keepers’ cottages, those employed at Table Cape were at least spared from total isolation as the region’s population had grown spectacularly over the course of the 19th century. However, life at the lighthouse was not without tragedy.
On 17 August 1888, just over two weeks following the lighthouse’s opening, the Head Lightkeeper’s infant son passed away. The lighthouse’s log book for that devastating day read:
Following advice from the undertaker, the family chose to have Bertie buried on-site. The grave was maintained and remains viewable to passers-by with a headstone reading:
Bertram Jackson
Died – 17th Aug 1888
Infant son of Mary and Robert Jackson
Past Lighthouse Keepers
Aged 1 yr 2 mths 1888
14 years later in March of 1902, the young son of assistant light keeper Arthur King died after falling from the cliff edge by the lighthouse.27
In 1920, the light was converted to automated operation and the keepers were withdrawn sometime after. The keepers’ cottages were left to deteriorate until their demolition in 1926. 28
3.7 Chronology of major events
The following table details the timeline of major events to have occurred at Table Cape Lighthouse.
Date |
Event |
1 Aug 1888 |
Light first exhibited from Table Cape Lighthouse.29 |
17 Aug 1888 |
Head Light Keeper’s baby passes away shortly after being posted to the newly constructed lighthouse. Buried on-site at the Lighthouse.30 |
26 Jan 1889 |
Flagstaff reported missing from Table Cape.31 |
2 Oct 1889 |
School at Table Cape Lighthouse completed.32 |
1899 |
A third keepers’ cottage constructed onsite at lighthouse.33 |
19 Mar 1902 |
Son of Mr Arthur King, assistant light keeper, passes away after falling off the Cape’s cliff edge.34 |
1917 |
New flagstaff erected at Table Cape Lighthouse.35 |
1920-23 |
Lighthouse de-staffed following conversion to automated operation.36 |
1926 |
Keepers’ cottages demolished.37 |
21 Oct 1980 |
Table Cape Lighthouse listed on the Register of the National Estate. |
1988 |
100th Anniversary celebrations held for the Table Cape Lighthouse. |
Prior to 2007 |
Table Cape Lighthouse listed on the Tasmanian State Heritage Register. |
2004 |
Table Cape Lighthouse included on the Commonwealth Heritage List. |
2010 |
Table Cape Lighthouse opened for tours. |
3.8 Changes and conservation over time
Table Cape Lighthouse has undergone both physical and technological changes since its construction in 1888. The following section addresses these changes.
The Brewis Report
Commander CRW Brewis, RN retired naval surveyor was commissioned in 1911 by the Commonwealth Government to report on the condition of existing lights and to recommend any additional ones. Brewis visited every lighthouse in Australia between June and December 1912 and produced a series of reports published in their final form in March 1913. These reports were the basis for future decisions made in relation to Commonwealth lighthouses.
Brewis’ report on his visit to Table Cape Lighthouse captured the lighthouse as it stood in 1912. The recommendations made included altering the light’s character and intensity, and withdrawing one of the three keepers from service.38
TABLE CAPE LIGHT (WYNYARD). (11 miles from Emu Bay.) Lat. 40º 57’ S., Long. 145º 45’ E., Charts Nos. 1695b and 1079.- Established in the year 1888. |
Alterations to the light
The following table outlines the technological alterations made to the Table Cape light.
Date |
Alteration |
1913 |
Converted to vaporised kerosene operation. |
1920 |
Converted to automated operation. |
1979 |
Lighthouse connected to mains electrcity – electric lamp installed. |
2008 |
Light converted to12V 100W C8 Halogen LP PR30s. |
2020 |
Light converted to Sealite SL-LED-216-W |
Recent conservation works
The following table outlines recent conservation works to have occurred at the lighthouse.
Date |
Works Completed |
2003 |
10 glazing panes replaced in lantern room. |
2010 |
Road to lighthouse realigned and resurfaced. Pedestrian pathways added around base of Lighthouse. 12.7mm steel mesh clamped to balcony handrail. Non-slip paint applied to internal stairs. 10 polycarbonate windows removed and replaced with laminated safety glass. 12.7mm steel mesh clamped to internal balusters on four landings. |
2020 |
Lead paint removal and repainting of tower basement floor, bridge walkway, entrance level, and lantern room floor. Corrosion reparation to metallic substrates and walkway bridge support beams. Repairs to pre-cast concrete slabs (walkway bridge). |
3.9 Summary of current and former uses
The Table Cape Lightstation was originally comprised of separate keepers’ cottages and the tower itself. The keepers and their families resided onsite within the cottages and the tower was observed to be purely a vital worksite for marine safety.
Following the de-staffing of the lighthouse and the demolition of the cottages, the site remained closed to the general public until 2010. Table Cape Lighthouse was then opened for tourism under a license with AMSA.
At present day, the lighthouse’s AtoN capability remains its primary use.
3.10 Summary of past and present community associations
The lighthouse its immediate surrounds maintain strong associations with a variety of groups locally, nationally and internationally.
Aboriginal heritage significance
Further consultation with Traditional Stakeholders is required for a greater understanding of the past and present associations held across the region.
Local, national and international associations
The site’s contribution to the development of the Table Cape district has cemented the lighthouse as a popular and significant local landmark.
As a staffed site from its construction in 1888 until 1920, Table Cape Lighthouse maintains familial ties from past lightkeepers – ties that transcend local, national and international borders.
3.11 Unresolved questions or historical conflicts
The overall cost of the construction project is disputed amongst documents. The Tasmanian Heritage Register lists £3 970 was charged for the staircase and retaining wall, and an extra £2 265 for the light making a combined cost of £6 235.39 The 2010 Table Cape Conservation Management Plan details that the light apparatus cost a total of £1,869 16s. 9d. and cited sources that declared the total cost of the lighthouse to have cost upwards of £7 000.40
Dates for when the Lighthouse school was discontinued are unclear, however sources appear to suggest it was still operating in 1904.41
The lighthouse was originally left unpainted in its natural brick colour. The date for when it was painted white is unclear.
The third keeper’s cottage added to the station in 1899 was said to have replaced an unsuitable structure onsite.42 It is unclear of what this structure was and whether it was built alongside the other cottages in 1888.
There is conflict over when the lighthouse keepers were withdrawn from service at Table Cape. The 2010 Table Cape Conservation Management Plan details that the keepers were withdrawn in 1920 following the conversion to automatic operation, while other sources detail keepers remained onsite until 1923.43
Any historical conflicts or unresolved questions brought to light concerning the lighthouse’s history will be included in this section within future plans.
3.12 Recommendations for further research
Further research into the light keepers stationed at Table Cape and their daily lives would provide valuable insight into the ordeals faced by keepers and their families who dedicated their time and effort to keep the fires burning.
Additionally, research into changes made to the tower and station as a whole, particularly regarding its major refurbishment in the 1970s, would provide greater insight into the transformation of the lightstation from its construction in 1888 to the present day.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Footnotes
8 Johnson, M., and Ian McFarlane, Van Diemen’s Land: An Aboriginal History, UNSW Press: NSW, (2015).
9 ‘Table Cape’s History: Few settlers before year 1850,’ Examiner, Jan 30, 1937
10 ‘Local,’ The Courier, July 24, 1852
11 ‘The Governor’s visit to the coast,’ The Courier, Feb 5, 1856
12 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 12; ‘Table Cape’s History: Few settlers before year 1850,’ Examiner, Jan 30, 1837
13 ‘Wreck of the Emma Prescott,’ Launceston Examiner, 8 Oct, 1867; ‘Tamar Heads,’ The Mercury, Jul 11, 1884
14 ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ The Tasmanian, Aug 4, 1888
15 ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ The Tasmanian, Aug 4, 1888
16 ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ The Tasmanian, Aug 4, 1888
17 ‘Lighthouse on the North West coast,’ The Mercury, April 3, 1879
18 ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ The Tasmanian, Aug 4, 1888
19 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 13.
20 ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ The Tasmanian, Aug 4, 1888
21 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 14; ‘The Table Cape Lighthouse,’ The Mercury, Aug 1, 1888
22 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 15.
23 ‘The Table Cape Lighthouse,’ Daily Telegraph, Aug 3, 1888
24 ‘The Table Cape Lighthouse,’ The Mercury, Aug 1, 1888
25 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 15.
26 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 16; ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ Lighthouses of Australia Inc.
27 ‘Fatal accident: Child falls over precipice,’ The Mercury, Mar 21, 1902; ‘Deaths,’ The Mercury, Mar 24, 1902
28 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 20; ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ Lighthouses of Australia Inc.
29 ‘The Table Cape Lighthouse,’ Daily Telegraph, Aug 3, 1888
30 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 16; ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ Lighthouses of Australia Inc.
31 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 16
32 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 17
33 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 18
34 ‘Fatal accident: Child falls over precipice,’ The Mercury, Mar 21, 1902; ‘Deaths,’ The Mercury, Mar 24, 1902
35 ‘Lighthouse flagstaff,’ The North Western Adovcate and the Emu Bay Times, May 31, 1917
36 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 20
37 ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ Lighthouses of Australia Inc.
38 Brewis, C.R.W., Preliminary report on the lighting of the coast of Tasmania and the islands in Bass Strait: Recommendations as to existing lights and additional lights, Department of Trade and Customs, (1912), pg. 13.
39 Tasmanian Heritage Register, Table Cape Light Station, Heritage Tasmania
40 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 14-15
41 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 19
42 Lee, Emma., Table Cape Lighthouse, pg. (2009), pg. 18
43 Lee, Emma, Table Cape Lighthouse, (2009), pg. 20; ‘Table Cape Lighthouse,’ Lighthouses of Australia Inc.