I’ve been ruminating over this post for the past couple of months and planned to use the end of the year as a deadline but it’s come and gone and I’m still trying to distil my thoughts and put words around them. I’m not sure if I’ve reached any conclusions but I think I’m getting […]

After my first taste of the Queensland outback a year ago I was interested to see if other parts of this vast expanse would have a similar effect on me. On this leg I spent time in central Australia, 200 km west of Alice Springs, the Kimberley, the Pilbara and on the Nullarbor Plain, and […]

For what would be the final leg of my lighthouse odyssey I was joined by my son Hewie in Perth to travel the south west corner, cross the Nullabor and close the loop when our eastward path would intersect with my northbound route at Port Wakefield at the top of the Yorke Peninsula in SA. […]

Jutting into the northern reaches of Spencer Gulf near Whyalla on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, the elegant white tower of Point Lowly Lighthouse has guided vessels bound for the industrial ports of Port Pirie, Port Augusta, and the burgeoning steelworks of Whyalla for over 140 years. Watching over waters renowned for their treacherous “dodge tides”, […]

Standing watch over the approaches to the deep natural harbour of Boston Bay and the vast expanse of Spencer Gulf on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, two distinctive lighthouses have guided mariners through treacherous waters for over a century. The Cape Donington Lighthouse stands at the northern entrance to Port Lincoln, while the remote South Neptune […]

Guarding the approaches to King George Sound, known to the Menang Noongar people as Memang Koort, three lighthouses have marked one of Western Australia’s most critical maritime corridors for over 160 years. These lighthouses reflect Albany’s pivotal role as the colony’s principal port before Fremantle’s development, their construction spanning nearly 120 years from colonial convict […]

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse stands at the most south-westerly point of the Australian mainland, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet in a wild tumult of competing swells and currents. Rising 39m from its granite foundations it remains mainland Australia’s tallest lighthouse. The white tower has guarded this treacherous passage since December 1896 with its powerful […]

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse stands majestically on a 100m bluff overlooking Geographe Bay, its roughly-hewn white limestone tower rising 20m above the windswept promontory. First exhibited in 1904, this lighthouse represents a pivotal achievement in Western Australia’s maritime infrastructure made possible by the 1890s gold rush that finally provided the colony with funds to undertake major […]

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 […]