Today was a milestone for me as I wanted to be able to say I have not only stood at the furthest north point of Australia.... Cape York
Pictures taken at the tip of Australia at Cape York in 1995
shesssh wish I still had that figure !!!
I have to edit this, as I have just found out that the lighthouse is NOT the most southern end of Australia..but Wilson Promontory is .... lucky I have been there while down here in Victoria, So I am still on track...(Blog 30th Jan ) so my apologies for misinforming everyone
Now I have to find the West side which is Steep Point and the East side which is Byron Bay
While driving towards the light house it was a nice drive through the rain forests where we saw a sign saying "Beware Koala, Birds, Kangaroo and cows" but as always you never see any... well so we thought and low and behold, they were everywhere Koala's !!!!
We were just amazed how many they were, and it was great to see them close up and active in the wild, beats ever seeing them in a zoo...
See the one in the back ground too !!
These picture arn't of the same koala they are all different ones..
This Koala was actually on the ground and as we approached she just decided to climb the tree she wasn't frightened at all, other people were there taking pictures of her on the ground and she just sat there...
Anyway back to the lighthouse....CAPE Otway Lightstation's first keepers and their wives had to be dedicated, hard-working and incredibly resourceful people to cope with the demands of an arduous and isolated lifestyle with supplies delivered just twice a year - by boat. They kept the light lit, rescued and fed shipwreck victims and raised their families in between maintaining the Beacon of Hope for the thousands of ships which sailed Bass Strait.
The lighthouse was first in operation in 1848 built 80 metres on the sea cliff edge, inside the light was a giant lead crystal lens, shipped from England, and valued at $5 million dollars.
Hundreds of lives were lost in shipwrecks off Cape Otway, before the light house was built.
It was originally fuelled by whale oil, thenkerosene and later electricity,it shone 48 kms out to sea. The old light was finally turned off in 1994 and replaced by a solar powered automatic beacon.
The view from the top was amazing.... very windy and very cold
View from the top of light house
Not only the lighthouse but many more historic building was on the site, The Telegraph Station, was built in 1859 to house Australia's first submarine telegraph cable, which linked Tasmania and the mainland...It housed operators, their families and the telegraph operations rooms. The submarine cable failed within six months of the station opening. The house was then turned into a Lloyd's Signal Station - responsible for telegraphing to Melbourne the details of all vessels passing Cape Otway. Between 1882 and 1933 it was a school and accomodation for the Armed Services and light keepers families.
There is also a World War II Radar Bunker, this radar station was built in 1942 after the US steamship, City of Rayville was sunk by a German mine off the Cape in November 1940.
After viewing all the buildings we went for a walk through the bush, where they had preserved different indigenous activities.
After a great day we finished off at the Cafe and had yummy scones with fresh cream and jam and hot chocolate...
I have to edit this, as I just found out that the lighthouse is NOT the most southern end of Australia..but Wilson Promontory is !!!!!( Check out my earlier blog dated 30th Jan ).... lucky I have been there while down here in Victoria, so Im still on track...so my apologies for misinforming everyone
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