The Series has been brought to you to highlight local country towns in the South of Victoria.
Cape Otway
The coastline to the west of Cape Otway is known as the “Shipwreck Coast” as it is littered with the wrecks of ships that came to grief attempting to enter or leave Bass Strait. While these days, a GPS can give a precise position to within 3m, in the days of sailing ships, locations and courses were calculated based on the positions of the stars and the sun. The distance between Cape Otway and King Island is only 90km. After travelling across the world and dealing with the Roaring Forties and treacherous currents, the passage between the two was known as ‘Threading the needle”, and many came to grief.
The lighthouse at Cape Otway was lit in 1848 after a mammoth effort to survey and construct, using stone cut nearby and ferried to the site by oxen. Seventy men worked for 10 months to shape the sandstone to such exacting proportions that no cement was required to assemble the tower.
Manufactured in London, the lantern was brought ashore through crashing surf in small boats. The light mechanism consisted of 21 polished reflectors and lamps mounted on a frame.
It is now the oldest remaining functional navigation light on mainland Australia. Originally powered by whale oil, it passed through kerosene, diesel electric, mains power and finally, it was converted to an unmanned, solar powered beacon in 1994.
