Lighthouses of VIC - Gabo Island Lighthouse Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia
By Team MavEtJu on 21-Oct-16. Waypoint GA8648

Lighthouses of VIC - Gabo Island Lighthouse

The Gabo Island Lighthouse, renown for its striking red granite tower, was built on the south eastern tip of the remote wilderness island. Lightkeepers endured much hardship in the early years. The earliest attempt to erect a lighthouse on the island was abandoned in 1846 after excavations to the depth of 66 feet (20 metres) to find bedrock upon which foundations could be laid had used all the allocated funding.

A light was eventually established in 1853. It was a wooden tower pre-assembled in Sydney, then dismantled and re-erected on the island. The lantern that had been intended for the the abandoned lighthouse was held in storage and used in this lighthouse.

Conditions for keepers attending the first light were hard with poor shelter and irregular supplies. The current lighthouse was completed in 1862 using red granite quarried on the island. Keepers quarters were improved at this time and again in 1888. The island is separated from the mainland by a shallow channel, one kilometre wide. Supplies in the early days were delivered by ship and later by helicopter.

Storms often lashed the island, and if one story is to be believed, the tide with a very severe one in 1895 came right up to the side of the walls of the houses, 16 metres above normal high tide!

Height: 47 metres
Elevation: 55 metres
Pattern: Group Flashing every 20.0 seconds
Range: 16 nautical miles / 30 km

Photo: David Armstrong

For more information, see lighthouses.org.au.

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