Penguin Island Virtual.
When you arrive at this view point and look in a southerly direction two islands are evident, the closer island is Cape Martin and the more distant one is Penguin Island. In the time period when the Penguin Island Lighthouse was manned the sea had not broken through behind Cape Martin and it was part of the mainland. A landing stage existed on the eastern side of Cape Martin for those occasions when lighthouse personnel needed to go to the mainland. The much longer journey to the Beachport jetty was undertaken when a larger volume of stores etc., had to be picked up. A landing stage was also maintained at the rocky shore of the island even after the jetty was erected at the island between May and June 1880. Reading through the lighthouse logbooks the upkeep and repair/rebuilding of the landing stages was a continuing problem due to damage from big waves but the lightkeepers considered the Cape Martin landing indispensable.
Depending on the conditions experienced on your visit you may or may not need binoculars to view Penguin Island and the remains of the jetty. To log this geocache answer these questions-
1- How many jetty piles are left showing above water at the island, only vertical piles need to be counted not the cross beams.
2- How many man-made objects can you see on the island other than the jetty and lighthouse remains?
3- At your location how many posts are making up the perimeter of the platform?
You may log your visit before sending your answers via message or email but any logs without follow up answers may be deleted. If you wish to add a photo please do not include the areas needed to answer the questions in the photo's background.
Here is just one part of the Penguin Island Lighthouse story from the 40 years it was a manned lightstation but it does have a connection with the area I have concentrated on for this virtual.
An act of bravery rewarded with the Royal Humane Society's Bronze Medal. Beachport May 13, 1879. In the afternoon Mr. Joseph Hilton, second keeper of the Penguin Island lighthouse, along with one of the sons of the Headkeeper Mr. Thomas Leslie, was returning from the mainland with provisions in the small dinghy. A heavy sea struck them when they were within 100 yards of the landing place, which is nothing but a nest of dangerous rocks, resulting in the dinghy capsizing. Joseph Hilton, who was a good swimmer, endeavoured to right the dinghy, but could not succeed; the boy got underneath the boat and it was with great difficulty that Joseph rescued him from his perilous position. With the dinghy being bottom up Joseph decided to swim for the island and putting the boy on his back set off. He approached the rocks three times, each time being carried back by the back wash. On the fourth attempt, although by now nearly exhausted, he managed to place the boy on the rock and after resting awhile scrambled ashore, having been in the water nearly 30 minutes. The provisions were lost and the dinghy drifted away. The other people on the island witnessed the accident but could not assist in any way as the only boat available was anchored some distance from shore. At daylight the following morning signals were hoisted from the lighthouse and seen by the people on the mainland. The acting Harbour-master, Mr. F. Clark immediately searched the beach and found the dinghy a good deal damaged, after much exertion he managed to drag her out of reach of the water. The weather being to rough to communicate with the lighthouse people he secured the boat for the night and next morning towed her to the island, much to the delight of the imprisoned keepers and families.
The conduct of Joseph Hilton was brought to the attention of the Marine Board at the meeting held on May 30th 1879. The Secretary was instructed to write to Mr. Hilton expressing the Boards appreciation of his bravery. In August 1879 the Marine Board received a memo stating His Excellency the Governor had agreed to submit the action of Joseph Hilton in saving the life of the young boy for recognition to the RHS. As previously mentioned this eventuated in the awarding of the RHS’s bronze medal.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
