Compared to its neighbouring lighthouses on Kangaroo Island and the Yorke Peninsula the lighthouses and channel markers guiding ships to safe passage into Port Adelaide are relatively humble and unremarkable. This is probably due to the fact that Adelaide was never a major port as was the case with some of the historic locations on the Yorke Peninsula, nor did it lie on a major sea lane like Kangaroo Island.

The only lighthouses of any note are the Marino Rocks lighthouse south of Adelaide and the historic and second edition of the infamous Wonga Shoal Lighthouse which was destroyed on November 17, 1912 when the ship Dimsdale struck it, leading to the deaths of the two lighthouse keepers, Henry Franson and Charles McGowan. A temporary lightship was then placed at the location, followed by a new steel lighthouse on the old screw piles, which was later replaced by an automated light on O’Halloran Hill in 1962. 

The replacement stell lighthouse now takes pride of place outside the Port Adelaide Maritime Museum.

The only other structure of historical interest is the impressive “Time Ball Tower” from which the suburb of Semaphore takes it’s name. These were common in ports of the nineteenth century to enable navigators to calibrate their chronometers accurately which was an essential prerequisite for accurate celestial navigation.

Notwithstanding the lack of lighthouses I was surprised what an apparently livable city Adelaide seems to be, it’s spacious, well organised, relatively affordable and has a fantastic range of hinterland options, from the Adelaide hills and Barossa Valley, to the McLaren Vale region including Victor Harbour and the delightful Port Elliot and Currency Creek. Then there’s Kangaroo Island, The Yorke Peninsula and magnificent Flinders Ranges, not to mention the Eyre Peninsula which I haven’t visited yet. The only downside I can see is a fairly brutal climate and the seemingly everpresent danger of “the men in grey” (i.e. white pointers).

Which reminds me of another “dad joke”: The first time I ever visited Adelaide was back in the mid-1970’s to stay with the Benness family (ironic given father Geoff’s inspiration for what I’m doing now!

At that time SA had a progressive government headed by Don Dunstan and they approved Austrialia’s first “clothing optional” (i.e.nudist) beach at Maslin just south of Adelaide which caused quite a stir around the country. Being 19 years old and curious off course we decided we needed to go and check it out, which we did only to be amused by the the graffitti someone had written on the shark warning sign which said “Beware of Sharks”, and our graffittisit had added the words “especially white pointers” with the appropriate appendage added to the sharks underside! We thought it was hilarious at the time…and still do! Needless to say I had to drop by Maslin for old times sake.

Disclaimer: Due to the need to get across the “Top End” in the dry season (which usually ends in October), and to spend time in the outback on the way north I have rushed the first stage of Act 3. In order to document the lighthouses I’ve visited I’ve enlisted the help of Elon Grok and A.I. Claude to help on these Lighthouse Stories. Despite their claims of infallibility I’ve found some of their facts not to be accurate and would welcome any corrections, which they will learn from! I have also sourced a few  photos from the public domain (i.e. Dr Google) to compliment the shots I’ve taken on my travels. I would like to concentrate on telling my personal experiences and thoughts as I travel around and intend to reedit these lighthouse stories when I have time.