Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Maatsuyker Island, Tasmania, Australia.[1] It was the last Australian lighthouse still being officially operated by lightkeepers. A second, smaller, and automated lighthouse was installed in 1996 but it is unclear whether volunteers are going to continue to work the lights on Maatsuyker Island.

Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse

Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse and the Needle Rocks on a clear day in December 2005.
Location	Maatsuyker Island Tasmania Australia
Coordinates	43°39′25″S 146°16′17″E
Tower
Constructed	1891 (first)
Construction	brick tower (first) fiberglass tower (current)
Height	15 metres (49 ft) (first)
Shape	conical tower with balcony and lantern (first)
Markings	white tower and lantern
Operator	Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Heritage	listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register
Light
First lit	1996 (current)
Deactivated	1996 (first)
Focal height	140 metres (460 ft) (current)
Lens	First order Fresnel by Chance Brothers
Range	26 nautical miles (48 km; 30 mi) (first)
Characteristic	Fl W 7.5 s. except every fourth flash omitted

Location

The lighthouse is located near the south-west tip of Maatsuyker Island, probably because its main function originally would have been to warn ships approaching from the west and being blown in an easterly direction by the prevailing westerly winds of the Roaring Forties. Many ships were shipwrecked on the south and west coasts of Tasmania from the earliest days of sail, until the advent of modern navigation aids, because of a combination of the westerly gales and the dangerous coastline.

History

In 1891 the lighthouse was completed and until today it remains Australia's most southerly lighthouse. A first order Fresnel lens made by Chance Brothers was used in the lantern and is still operational.[2] From the inauguration until the installation of the automated light,^[when?] the lighthouse was staffed by volunteer lighthouse keepers, who constituted the total population of the island.[3]

In August 2019, two volunteer lighthouse caretakers became engaged to be married at the lighthouse.[4]

See also

• History of Tasmania
• List of lighthouses in Tasmania

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maatsuyker Island lighthouse.

• Australian Maritime Safety Authority
• "The Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse". Lighthouses of Tasmania. Lighthouses of Australia Inc.

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