Low Head Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
Low Head Lighthouse is located in Low Head
, Tasmania
, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of George Town
on the east side of the mouth of the Tamar River
. It was the third lighthouse
to be constructed in Australia
, and it is also Australia's oldest continuously used pilot station
. This light is now unmanned and automated.
of Van Diemen's Land
(since renamed Tasmania) in the Norfolk
in 1798, George Bass
and Matthew Flinders
made landfall at a place they named Port Dalrymple
(since renamed George Town), 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) to the north-west of Launceston
. In doing so, they proved the existence of a strait between Australia and Tasmania. Flinders reported difficulty in locating the entrance to the channel.
Colonel William Paterson
arrived on 16 February 1804 aboard HMS Buffalo as the newly appointed Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land with the first settlers. The first navigation marker he installed at Low Head was a simple flagpole in 1804. Later that year, Paterson established a pilot station and signal station
in the sheltered bay below Low Head. He also installed a fire beacon
at Low Head to mark the hazardous entrance of the Tamar River. When a vessel was sighted after sunset, a fire would be lit and attended all night by convicts to allow the vessel to maintain sight of the port.
Several serious shipping accidents occurred near the mouth of the Tamar River early in the history of George Town. The first and most infamous of these occurred on 15 June 1808, when the Hebe struck a reef
between Low Head and Western Head at the entrance to Port Dalrymple. The ship was wrecked on the rocks at the mouth to the Tamar River, which have since that day carried the name Hebe Reef. Responding to this ongoing threat to shipping, the local Committee of Pilotage
recommended in 1826 that a lightstation should be built at Low Head.
Australia's first lighthouse, Macquarie Lighthouse
in Vaucluse, New South Wales
was lit in 1793. Australia's second lighthouse, Iron Pot Lighthouse
at the entrance to the Derwent River
was lit in 1832. Low Head Lighthouse, constructed by convict labor
and first lit on 27 December 1833, became Tasmania's second and only the third one to be built in Australia.
The presence of Low Head Lighthouse has undoubtedly prevented numerous shipping accidents since its first operation in 1833, but by no means all of them. Since the loss of the Hebe in 1808, nine more vessels have been lost on Hebe Reef. The most recent was MV Iron Baron, chartered by BHP Billiton
. On 10 July 1995, nearing the end of a voyage from Groote Eylandt with a load of manganese ore, MV Iron Baron ran aground on Hebe Reef. All crew were safely evacuated but the accident resulted in the worst oil spill
in Australian history.
, who was responsible for the design of many other Tasmanian lights, it was constructed of local rubble
with a coat of stucco
to make the structure durable. The crown was built of freestone from Launceston, and the lantern
room was built of timber, also from Launceston.
By the 1880s, the original stone tower had fallen into a state of disrepair. It was demolished in 1888 and replaced with the present double brick structure with a new lantern room and apparatus, designed by Marine Board architect Robert Huckson. The new tower was painted solid white from top to bottom. On 5 January 1926, a broad bright red band was painted around the midsection of the tower to improve visibility during daylight hours.
's quarters consisted of four rooms attached to the base of the tower. Low Head Lighthouse was the only Tasmanian lighthouse to be built with attached quarters.
A new Head Keeper's quarters was built in 1890. This was followed in 1916 by the construction of an Assistant Keeper's quarters immediately to the southwest of the tower.
s with tin reflectors
at three shillings and sixpence each. In 1835, the apparatus was upgraded by installation of a revolving shutter
which was rotated by a weight-driven clockwork mechanism
. In 1838, the original whale oil
Argand lamps and the tin mirrors were replaced by a revolving catadioptric system, manufactured by Wilkins and Company of London. The lens floated and rotated in a mercury
bath, which served as a bearing
. The cost of these upgrades was £
2000. In 1851, the luminous intensity
of the lantern was further increased.
When the new tower was constructed in 1888, the revolving catadioptric apparatus was retained, and a cast iron
and copper housing for the lantern (manufactured by Chance Brothers
of Smethwick
) was added.
In 1898, an auxiliary light was added to the tower. The assembly, manufactured by Chance Brothers, consisted of a two-wick lamp with a red lens that produced a red warning light to illuminate the hazardous Hebe Reef. The assembly is positioned such that the light shines from a window just above the midsection of the tower, about 6 metres (19.7 ft) below the main light.
In 1916, the lighting and lens assembly was extensively upgraded. A new revolving Fresnel lens
(3rd order 375 millimeter f.r. triple flashing catadioptric) was installed. The whale oil lantern was also replaced with a 55 millimetre incandescent gas mantle
lantern, and fuelled by vaporized kerosene
. The lens and lantern were both manufactured by Chance Brothers; the total cost of these improvements was £1,348 13s ld.
On 12 April 1937, Hydroelectric power
(generated at the nearby Duck Reach Power Station) was finally supplied to Low Head Lighthouse. The clockwork rotating mechanism was replaced by an electric motor, and the kerosene lantern was replaced by a 110 volt 500 watt electric lamp. The lantern apparatus currently uses a 240 volt lamp.
(also manufactured by Chance Brothers) is a Type G diaphone
that was installed in April 1929 at Low Head Lighthouse. The foghorn was operated by the lighthouse keepers during foggy conditions for more than forty years. The original device consisted of two Gardner Engine Company kerosene engines driving 2 Reavell air compressors, supplying air to two compressed air receivers
(each with a capacity of 7.5 cubic metres (264.9 cu ft) to an operating pressure of 35 pound per square inches (241,316.5 Pa). An air-operated timing mechanism controlled the valves which produced the sound, which could be heard at distances of up to 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) from Low Head. The foghorn was electrified in 1940, along with the rest of the equipment at the lightstation. At that time, one of the kerosene engines was removed and replaced with a 20 horsepower electric motor.
One of the largest diaphones ever constructed, the foghorn was decommissioned in 1973 because of technological advances in marine navigational equipment. The device fell into disrepair over the next few decades. Early in 2000, the Low Head Progress & Heritage Association in conjunction with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service
(the present owners of the equipment) began a project to restore the foghorn. The device became operational again in April 2001. Today, the foghorn at Low Head Lighthouse is one of only two functioning Type G diaphones in the world, and it is sounded every Sunday at noon.
(semaphore flags
) were employed to communicate shipping news from vessels in the Bass Strait
to Low Head Lighthouse. From there, semaphore lines would relay information to George Town and nearby Mount George, and thence to Mount Direction and Launceston. The semaphore system was finally replaced in 1859 by an electric telegraph
system, when Tasmania was linked across Bass Strait to mainland Australia by a submarine communications cable
which came ashore at East Beach in Low Head. The first undersea telephone cable linking Tasmania to mainland Australia was laid between Low Head and Flinders, Victoria
in 1936.
, which were separately staffed for some years.
Low Head, Tasmania
Low Head is a small hamlet located on a peninsula by the same name 5 km north-west of George Town, Tasmania, Australia. On the mouth of the Tamar River. It is known for its diving off the Low Head Pilots Station. The town has a lighthouse, a beach and a penguin colony...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of George Town
George Town, Tasmania
George Town is one of the larger towns in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. At the 2006 census, George Town had a population of 4,266. It is the regional centre of the George Town Council Local Government Area....
on the east side of the mouth of the Tamar River
Tamar River (Tasmania)
The Tamar River is a 70 kilometre estuarine in northern Tasmania formed by the merging of the North Esk River and South Esk Rivers at Launceston to its mouth at Low Head, north of the second largest settlement George Town and into the Bass Strait...
. It was the third lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
to be constructed in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and it is also Australia's oldest continuously used pilot station
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
. This light is now unmanned and automated.
History
During the course of their circumnavigationCircumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
of Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(since renamed Tasmania) in the Norfolk
Norfolk (sloop)
The Colonial sloop Norfolk: “The necessity of a vessel to keep up a more frequent intercourse with Norfolk Island, …having been much felt by the want of various stores …occasioned Captain Townson, the Commanding officer, to construct a small decked boat, sloop rigged, in which he sent His letters...
in 1798, George Bass
George Bass
George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early years:He was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6...
and Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
made landfall at a place they named Port Dalrymple
George Town, Tasmania
George Town is one of the larger towns in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. At the 2006 census, George Town had a population of 4,266. It is the regional centre of the George Town Council Local Government Area....
(since renamed George Town), 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) to the north-west of Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
. In doing so, they proved the existence of a strait between Australia and Tasmania. Flinders reported difficulty in locating the entrance to the channel.
Colonel William Paterson
William Paterson (explorer)
Colonel William Paterson, FRS was a Scottish soldier, explorer, Lieutenant governor and botanist best known for leading early settlement in Tasmania. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Paterson when citing a botanical name.-Early years:A native of Montrose, Scotland, Paterson was...
arrived on 16 February 1804 aboard HMS Buffalo as the newly appointed Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land with the first settlers. The first navigation marker he installed at Low Head was a simple flagpole in 1804. Later that year, Paterson established a pilot station and signal station
Sea mark
A sea mark, also seamark and navigation mark, is a form of aid to navigation and pilotage aid which identifies the approximate position of a maritime channel, hazard and administrative area to allow boats, ships and seaplanes to navigate safely....
in the sheltered bay below Low Head. He also installed a fire beacon
Beacon
A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location.Beacons can also be combined with semaphoric or other indicators to provide important information, such as the status of an airport, by the colour and rotational pattern of its airport beacon, or of...
at Low Head to mark the hazardous entrance of the Tamar River. When a vessel was sighted after sunset, a fire would be lit and attended all night by convicts to allow the vessel to maintain sight of the port.
Several serious shipping accidents occurred near the mouth of the Tamar River early in the history of George Town. The first and most infamous of these occurred on 15 June 1808, when the Hebe struck a reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
between Low Head and Western Head at the entrance to Port Dalrymple. The ship was wrecked on the rocks at the mouth to the Tamar River, which have since that day carried the name Hebe Reef. Responding to this ongoing threat to shipping, the local Committee of Pilotage
Pilotage
Pilotage is the use of fixed visual references on the ground or sea by means of sight or radar to guide oneself to a destination, sometimes with the help of a map or nautical chart. People use pilotage for activities such as guiding vessels and aircraft, hiking and Scuba diving...
recommended in 1826 that a lightstation should be built at Low Head.
Australia's first lighthouse, Macquarie Lighthouse
Macquarie Lighthouse
The Macquarie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light, was the first, and is the longest serving, lighthouse site in Australia. It is located on Dunbar Head, Vaucluse near the entrance to Sydney Harbour. There has been a navigational aid in this vicinity since 1791 and a lighthouse near...
in Vaucluse, New South Wales
Vaucluse, New South Wales
Vaucluse is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Vaucluse is located north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and the Municipality of Woollahra....
was lit in 1793. Australia's second lighthouse, Iron Pot Lighthouse
Iron Pot
Iron Pot is a small flat sandstone island with an area of 1.27 ha in south-eastern Australia. It is part of the Betsey Island Group, lying close to the south-eastern coast of Tasmania around the entrance to the Derwent River...
at the entrance to the Derwent River
Derwent River (Tasmania)
The Derwent is a river in Tasmania, Australia. It was named after the River Derwent, Cumbria by British Commodore John Hayes who explored it in 1793. The name is Brythonic Celtic for "valley thick with oaks"....
was lit in 1832. Low Head Lighthouse, constructed by convict labor
Penal labour
Penal labour is a form of unfree labour in which prisoners perform work, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence which involve penal labour include penal servitude and imprisonment with hard labour...
and first lit on 27 December 1833, became Tasmania's second and only the third one to be built in Australia.
The presence of Low Head Lighthouse has undoubtedly prevented numerous shipping accidents since its first operation in 1833, but by no means all of them. Since the loss of the Hebe in 1808, nine more vessels have been lost on Hebe Reef. The most recent was MV Iron Baron, chartered by BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
. On 10 July 1995, nearing the end of a voyage from Groote Eylandt with a load of manganese ore, MV Iron Baron ran aground on Hebe Reef. All crew were safely evacuated but the accident resulted in the worst oil spill
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...
in Australian history.
Tower
The original tower, 15.25 metres (50 ft) high, was known as the "Georgetown Station". Designed by Colonial Architect John Lee ArcherJohn Lee Archer
John Lee Archer , architect and engineer, was born in Ireland and emigrated to Tasmania in 1827.- Personal life :John Lee Archer, born 26 April 1791 near Thurles, Ireland, was an important factor in the development of the townships of Tasmania during early settlement...
, who was responsible for the design of many other Tasmanian lights, it was constructed of local rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
with a coat of stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
to make the structure durable. The crown was built of freestone from Launceston, and the lantern
Lantern
A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...
room was built of timber, also from Launceston.
By the 1880s, the original stone tower had fallen into a state of disrepair. It was demolished in 1888 and replaced with the present double brick structure with a new lantern room and apparatus, designed by Marine Board architect Robert Huckson. The new tower was painted solid white from top to bottom. On 5 January 1926, a broad bright red band was painted around the midsection of the tower to improve visibility during daylight hours.
Quarters
Low Head Lighthouse was staffed by a superintendent and two convict assistants who were locked in their quarters overnight. The lighthouse keeperLighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...
's quarters consisted of four rooms attached to the base of the tower. Low Head Lighthouse was the only Tasmanian lighthouse to be built with attached quarters.
A new Head Keeper's quarters was built in 1890. This was followed in 1916 by the construction of an Assistant Keeper's quarters immediately to the southwest of the tower.
Light and lens assembly
The original apparatus was supplied in 1833 by W. Hart of Launceston. He supplied six dozen Argand lampArgand lamp
The Argand lamp is home lighting oil lamp producing a light output of 6 to 10 candlepower which was invented and patented in 1780 by Aimé Argand...
s with tin reflectors
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
at three shillings and sixpence each. In 1835, the apparatus was upgraded by installation of a revolving shutter
Shutter (photography)
In photography, a shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period of time, for the purpose of exposing photographic film or a light-sensitive electronic sensor to light to capture a permanent image of a scene...
which was rotated by a weight-driven clockwork mechanism
Movement (clockwork)
In horology, a movement is the internal mechanism of a clock or watch, as opposed to the case, which encloses and protects the movement, and the face which displays the time. The term originated with mechanical timepieces, whose movements are made of many moving parts...
. In 1838, the original whale oil
Whale oil
Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...
Argand lamps and the tin mirrors were replaced by a revolving catadioptric system, manufactured by Wilkins and Company of London. The lens floated and rotated in a mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
bath, which served as a bearing
Fluid bearing
Fluid bearings are bearings which support the bearing's loads solely on a thin layer of liquid or gas.They can be broadly classified as fluid dynamic bearings or hydrostatic bearings. Hydrostatic bearings are externally pressurized fluid bearings, where the fluid is usually oil, water or air, and...
. The cost of these upgrades was £
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
2000. In 1851, the luminous intensity
Luminous intensity
In photometry, luminous intensity is a measure of the wavelength-weighted power emitted by a light source in a particular direction per unit solid angle, based on the luminosity function, a standardized model of the sensitivity of the human eye...
of the lantern was further increased.
When the new tower was constructed in 1888, the revolving catadioptric apparatus was retained, and a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
and copper housing for the lantern (manufactured by Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands , in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology....
of Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
) was added.
In 1898, an auxiliary light was added to the tower. The assembly, manufactured by Chance Brothers, consisted of a two-wick lamp with a red lens that produced a red warning light to illuminate the hazardous Hebe Reef. The assembly is positioned such that the light shines from a window just above the midsection of the tower, about 6 metres (19.7 ft) below the main light.
In 1916, the lighting and lens assembly was extensively upgraded. A new revolving Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
(3rd order 375 millimeter f.r. triple flashing catadioptric) was installed. The whale oil lantern was also replaced with a 55 millimetre incandescent gas mantle
Gas mantle
An incandescent gas mantle, gas mantle, or Welsbach mantle is a device for generating bright white light when heated by a flame. The name refers to its original heat source, existing gas lights, which filled the streets of Europe and North America in the late 19th century, mantle referring to the...
lantern, and fuelled by vaporized kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
. The lens and lantern were both manufactured by Chance Brothers; the total cost of these improvements was £1,348 13s ld.
On 12 April 1937, Hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
(generated at the nearby Duck Reach Power Station) was finally supplied to Low Head Lighthouse. The clockwork rotating mechanism was replaced by an electric motor, and the kerosene lantern was replaced by a 110 volt 500 watt electric lamp. The lantern apparatus currently uses a 240 volt lamp.
Foghorn
Tasmania's only foghornFoghorn
A foghorn or fog signal or fog bell is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of hazards or boats of the presence of other vehicles in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport...
(also manufactured by Chance Brothers) is a Type G diaphone
Diaphone
For Diaphone, the Noctuid moth species see Diaphone The diaphone was a noisemaking device best known for its use as a foghorn: it could produce deep, powerful tones able to carry a long distance...
that was installed in April 1929 at Low Head Lighthouse. The foghorn was operated by the lighthouse keepers during foggy conditions for more than forty years. The original device consisted of two Gardner Engine Company kerosene engines driving 2 Reavell air compressors, supplying air to two compressed air receivers
Pressure vessel
A pressure vessel is a closed container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure.The pressure differential is dangerous and many fatal accidents have occurred in the history of their development and operation. Consequently, their design,...
(each with a capacity of 7.5 cubic metres (264.9 cu ft) to an operating pressure of 35 pound per square inches (241,316.5 Pa). An air-operated timing mechanism controlled the valves which produced the sound, which could be heard at distances of up to 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) from Low Head. The foghorn was electrified in 1940, along with the rest of the equipment at the lightstation. At that time, one of the kerosene engines was removed and replaced with a 20 horsepower electric motor.
One of the largest diaphones ever constructed, the foghorn was decommissioned in 1973 because of technological advances in marine navigational equipment. The device fell into disrepair over the next few decades. Early in 2000, the Low Head Progress & Heritage Association in conjunction with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is the Tasmanian Government body responsible for the care and administration of Tasmania's National Parks and wildlife.-History:...
(the present owners of the equipment) began a project to restore the foghorn. The device became operational again in April 2001. Today, the foghorn at Low Head Lighthouse is one of only two functioning Type G diaphones in the world, and it is sounded every Sunday at noon.
Communication
Beginning in 1804, Flag signalsFlag signals
Flag signals can mean any of various methods of using flags or pennants to send signals. Flags may have individual significance as signals, or two or more flags may be manipulated so that their relative positions convey symbols...
(semaphore flags
Flag semaphore
Semaphore Flags is the system for conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands. Information is encoded by the position of the flags; it is read when the flag is in a fixed position...
) were employed to communicate shipping news from vessels in the Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
to Low Head Lighthouse. From there, semaphore lines would relay information to George Town and nearby Mount George, and thence to Mount Direction and Launceston. The semaphore system was finally replaced in 1859 by an electric telegraph
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
system, when Tasmania was linked across Bass Strait to mainland Australia by a submarine communications cable
Submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
which came ashore at East Beach in Low Head. The first undersea telephone cable linking Tasmania to mainland Australia was laid between Low Head and Flinders, Victoria
Flinders, Victoria
Flinders is a historic town south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located on the Mornington Peninsula at the point where Western Port meets Bass Strait. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...
in 1936.
Lighthouse keepers
From 1865 to 1912, Low Head Lighthouse was under the control of Alfred C. Rockwell and his son Alfred C. Rockwell Junior. The lightstation was also responsible for the smaller Tamar River leading lightsLeading lights
Leading lights are a pair of light beacons, used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; and may also be used for position fixing. At night, the lights are a form of leading line that can be used for safe navigation...
, which were separately staffed for some years.
Nearby lighthouses
- Tamar River Leading Lights (41°04.8′S 146°48.3′E)
- Mersey River Leading Lights (41°10.7′S 146°21.7′E)
- Mersey Bluff Lighthouse (41°10′S 146°21′E)
- Round Hill Point (41°03.9′S 145°57.7′E)
- Highfield Bluff (40°44.4′S 145°17.3′E)
- Rocky Cape Lighthouse (40°51.3′S 145°30.4′E)
- Table Cape Lighthouse (40°56.9′S 145°43.8′E)
External links
- Australian Maritime Safety Authority website
- Map showing location of Low Head lighthouse
- Parks Victoria - Parks Victoria is the custodian of a diverse estate of significant parks in Victoria
- Low Head Fog Alarm
- The Sound Is Found