Eclipse Island Lighthouse

Eclipse Island Lighthouse

Eclipse Island Lighthouse in April 2022
Location	Eclipse Island Albany, Western Australia Western Australia
Coordinates	35°10′50.4″S 117°53′17.1″E
Tower
Constructed	1926
Construction	concrete tower
Automated	1976
Height	14 metres (46 ft)
Shape	cylindrical tower with lantern removed in 1976
Markings	unpainted tower, with beacon installed in 1976
Power source	solar power
Operator	Australian Maritime Safety Authority[1]
Heritage	State Registered Place
Light
Focal height	119 metres (390 ft)
Intensity	17,000 cd
Range	15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)
Characteristic	FI (3) W 12s.
Western Australia Heritage Register
Type	State Registered Place
Designated	30 August 2002
Reference no.	15740

Eclipse Island Lighthouse is an active lighthouse in Eclipse Island off the south coast of Western Australia[2]

History

It was built in 1926 as a cylindrical tower made of concrete. Initially, it was a staffed light using kerosene as lantern fuel in combination with a first order Fresnel lens. In 1976 the lantern was completely removed and the optic was put on display at the Western Australian Museum. Today the light is emitted from atop a mast on the lighthouse's concrete trunk. The characteristic is a group of three flashes every twelve seconds from a focal plane at 117 metres (384 ft) above sea level.[3]

Three family quarters made of brick with fibro roofing along with several outbuildings, concrete tanks and bases, generator shed, helipad and a concrete landing can be found around the lighthouse. A trestle based light gauge railway and cable towers are also found in the lighthouse precinct, and was all constructed during the interwar period.[4]

See also

• List of lighthouses in Australia
• List of places on the State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Albany

Notes

1. Eclipse Island Lighthouse Lighthouse of Australia inc.
2. "The New Lighthouse on Eclipse Island". Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 29 August 1926. p. 1 Section: Second Section. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
3. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Australia: Western Australia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
4. "Heritage Assessment Documentation" (PDF). 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2011.

References

• Scott, Nuala; Albany Residency Museum (1988), Eclipse Island lighthouse, Albany, Western Australia, Albany Residency Museum, ISBN 978-0-7316-5110-8
• Austin, Stan; Western Australian Museum (2004), Lighthouses of Albany, Western Australian Museum, ISBN 978-1-920843-13-7
• Eclipse Island, Albany, Western Australia : the Australian Maritime Safety Authority lighthouse conservation assessment, The Architects, 2000, retrieved 28 April 2013
• "The new lighthouse on Eclipse Island". Sunday Times. Perth, Western Australia: National Library of Australia. 29 August 1926. p. 1 Section: Second Section. Retrieved 13 April 2011.

External links

• Eclipse Island Lighthouse Lighthouses of Australia Inc.