Casuarina Point Lighthouse stands prominently on Marlston Drive in Bunbury, Western Australia, its distinctive black and white checkered pattern making it one of the most visually striking maritime landmarks along the state’s coastline. Rising 25 metres tall with a focal height of 43 metres above sea level, this unique structure serves as a vital navigation beacon for mariners entering Koombana Bay and the busy port of Bunbury. The lighthouse’s remarkable story spans not just decades but connects multiple generations of coastal lights, incorporating historic elements from earlier structures while standing as one of the last traditional lighthouse towers built in Western Australia.

Before European settlement, this region was home to the Elaap Wardandi Noongar people for thousands of years. The area was known as Koombana or Koombarnup, with Marlston Hill—where the first lighthouse would eventually stand—bearing the Aboriginal name Bulligup or Bullyup. The Preston River held deep spiritual significance as a mythological site created by the Dreamtime spirit Ngarngungudditj Walgu, the Hairy Faced Serpent. The dunes on Upper Esplanade were recognised as traditional Noongar burial grounds, and a site in today’s Pioneer Park was identified as being related to ancient burial grounds, testament to the deep connection the Wardandi people, one of fourteen language groups of the Noongar peoples, maintained with this coastal landscape from Augusta to Bunbury.

European contact began in November 1829 when Dr Alexander Collie and Lt. Preston explored the coast around Port Leschenault, followed by the establishment of a military post in March 1830. The area took its current name after Lieutenant Henry William St Pierre Bunbury travelled overland from Pinjarra in December 1836, with Governor Stirling renaming Port Leschenault “Bunbury” the following year. The first navigational aid was remarkably modest—a wooden keg with a storm lantern placed on what would become Marlston Hill, the highest point in the harbour area. This site had already served as a trigonometric point for the original town survey in 1841, with the name Marlston Hill thought to honour the Marlston House Hermitage in Newbury, Berkshire, England, connected to a family named Bunbury.

The evolution of the lighthouse reflects Bunbury’s growing importance as a port. In 1870, the first proper lighthouse was built—a modest 3-metre wooden tower on Marlston Hill, positioned about 365 metres east-northeast of the present lighthouse. This simple structure served the developing port for over three decades as Bunbury grew into an important timber export centre and whaling station. By 1901, increasing maritime traffic demanded better navigation, and the wooden tower was replaced with a temporary skeletal structure. Just two years later, in 1903, a more substantial 9-metre cast iron tower was erected, incorporating the 1879 Chance Bros fixed 4th order lantern from the second Arthur’s Head lighthouse at Fremantle. Colonial Secretary the Hon. Walter Kingsmill officially opened this lighthouse on 19th October 1903, its light visible over 20 miles with 7000 candlepower at an altitude of 123 feet.

The lighthouse underwent a dramatic transformation in 1959 when the cast iron tower was raised by 6 metres—three cylindrical sections of about 2 metres each—to overcome visibility problems caused by massive bulk fuel tank installations, the largest being 22 metres in diameter and 20 metres high. According to the South Western Times of January 21, 1960, the work was completed in just 10 days at a cost of 8,000 pounds using the largest crane in the state. In 1970-1971, the lighthouse was relocated to its present position at Casuarina Point, closer to the ocean beach, reaching a total structure height of 27.43 metres. The historic lantern and the 1959 extension section were incorporated into the new tower, which was painted in its distinctive black and white checkered pattern—a design reportedly recommended by a local Scots sailor. The light characteristic displays three white flashes every 15 seconds with a visibility range of 19 nautical miles.

The waters around Bunbury have witnessed centuries of maritime drama, with the seabed of Koombana Bay serving as a time capsule of Western Australia’s nautical past. The region’s maritime heritage is particularly rich from the whaling era, when three North American whaling ships met their fate in northwest gales: the Samuel Wright (1840), and two vessels both named North America (1840 and 1843), lying 10,000 nautical miles from their home ports. The Samuel Wright, originally built for the North Atlantic cotton trade, had been converted to a whaler and was recorded as one of the largest and finest ships of the Salem whaling fleet. Visits by these American whaling ships were crucial to maintaining the viability of small Western Australian coastal settlements, with their associated trade in imported goods exchanged for fresh provisions such as vegetables and kangaroo meat. The sale of whaling gear from shipwrecked vessels to local interests helped establish Western Australia’s own whaling industry. In February 2016, maritime archaeologists confirmed that a wooden shipwreck excavated at Koombana Bay was indeed the Samuel Wright, buried as a result of coastal changes from port development. These shipwrecks in the pre-1896 shoreline location represent a significant maritime heritage resource with regional, national and international significance.

Other vessels met tragic ends in these waters. The Langstone, departing Bunbury with a cargo of karri and jarrah, encountered a fierce gale and struck Naturaliste Reef, sinking just half an hour later. While all 13 crew initially survived, tragedy struck that night when 22-year-old seaman Andreas Larsen—who had recently survived another shipwreck—died. The Langstone now rests completely intact and upright on a sandy seabed four kilometres from Naturaliste Reef. In more recent times, the Lena, a 40-metre long ex-fishing vessel, was purpose sunk in 2002 in 17 metres of water, 3 nautical miles offshore from Bunbury as a dive site and artificial reef.

The lighthouse keepers of Bunbury formed an essential part of the town’s maritime infrastructure, often serving dual roles in the port’s operations. The earliest known keeper was John Sinclair who arrived in Fremantle on the Dolphin in January 1860 before coming to Bunbury. In 1901 Captain John George Abrahamson served as both keeper and Harbour-master to the Port of Bunbury, while in 1909 Mr. George Ramage held the position, having previously served as a lighthouse keeper on Rottnest Island. Perhaps the most notable keeper was Charles ‘Mac’ McCarthy, who served in Western Australia’s Harbour and Lights Department for an impressive 44 years. In 1934 McCarthy was transferred from Albany to Bunbury to serve as Coxswain on the pilot boat The Petrel, but one of his main duties remained climbing Lighthouse Hill each morning and evening to light and extinguish the beacon. In later years, when the light was connected to electricity, he gained the comfort of performing this chore from his house. McCarthy was also responsible for signalling with the flagstaff whenever a vessel came into sight, maintaining a constant vigil over the waters that had claimed so many ships. While the lighthouse lacks the ghost stories that haunt many of Australia’s older coastal stations, the tragedy of young Andreas Larsen and the mysteries surrounding the fate of the whaling crews who perished in Koombana Bay cast long shadows over these waters, reminders of the sea’s unforgiving nature and the countless souls lost in the pursuit of their maritime livelihoods.

Unlike earlier generations of Australian lighthouses that required resident keepers and their families, the current Casuarina Point Lighthouse has been operated by automated systems since its construction in 1970-1971. The lighthouse continues to serve as an active navigation aid for vessels approaching Bunbury, which has grown to become Western Australia’s third-largest city and a major regional port. In 2004 a proposal to install mobile phone antennas on the lighthouse drew protests from residents and the city council, demonstrating the community’s commitment to preserving the landmark’s heritage character, and the proposal did not proceed. The rest of the 1903 lighthouse was demolished, with a modern Bicentennial Marlston Hill Rotary Lookout Tower built at a cost of $150,000 and opened in 2000 on the site of the original Bunbury lighthouse.

The lighthouse stands as a testament to Western Australia’s maritime heritage, combining historical elements from multiple generations of coastal lights. Its distinctive appearance and prominent location make it one of the most photographed landmarks in Bunbury, while its light continues to guide mariners safely into port, maintaining an unbroken tradition of navigation assistance that spans over 150 years. The beacon watches over waters that have witnessed international whaling operations, tragic shipwrecks, and the evolution of a modest frontier port into a thriving modern city, while beneath the waves of Koombana Bay lie the preserved remnants of vessels from distant shores—silent witnesses to the courage and loss that characterised the age of sail.

Technical Summary

First Exhibited: 1970-1971
Status: Active (Automated, unmanned)
Location: Marlston Drive, Bunbury, Western Australia (approximately 175 kilometres south of Perth)
Historical Significance: Incorporates elements from multiple earlier lighthouses; distinctive black and white checkered design; one of the last traditional lighthouse structures in Western Australia
Construction Material: Steel tower construction
Tower Height: 25 metres
Focal Height: 43 metres above sea level
Lantern House: Historic 1879 Chance Bros fixed 4th order lantern from Arthur’s Head Lighthouse
Design Recognition: Distinctive black and white checkered pattern unique among Australian lighthouses
Optical System: 4th order fixed lens (Chance Bros, 1879)
Visibility: 19 nautical miles (nominal range)
Characteristic: 3 white flashes every 15 seconds (Fl(3) W 15s)
Operation: Fully automated
Admiralty Number: K1782
ARLHS ID: AUS054
Indigenous Heritage: Located on traditional lands of the Wardandi Noongar people (Koombana/Koombarnup)
Previous Lighthouses: 1870 wooden tower; 1901 skeletal tower; 1903 cast iron tower; 1959 extended tower; 1970-1971 relocated to current position