Cape Leeuwin
Admiralty Reference # 1758
1896 - present

Shine Forth

Margaret River Senior High School had the lighthouse as its emblem and our motto was 'Shine Forth'. On a recent trip 'back home', we called into the High School and I was thrilled to discover that Toddy's (Mr Todhunter's) model of a lighthouse was right where I remembered it being 34 years ago.

High rainfall, foggy weather, strong onshore winds and sometimes ferocious gales, means that most ships stay 15 to 20 miles out to sea to be on the safe side as they round the Cape.

Timeline

1622 - area named Leeuwins Land by Dutch navigators when the "Leeuwin" ("Lioness") rounded the cape
1801 - Named Cape Leeuwin by Matthew Finders
1881 - initial proposal to errect a light
1895 - initial delays experienced when instead of the planned 2.44 metres of excavation for the foundations they had to go to 6.7 metres until they reached bedrock.
1896 - Lighthouse completed and first illuminated Dec 10th
1900 - Trinity House 6 wick oil burner  replaced by an 85mm kerosene lamp
1915 - AMSA assumed responsibility for coastal lights
1925 - the kerosene mantle was replaced by a cluster of three 55mm mantles
1982 - light converted to electrical operation
1955 - radio navigation beacon commissioned
1974 - when the tower was painted, they found names and dates carved by the original stone masons at various levels of construction.
1975 - auto alarm system reacting to radio distress calls was installed
1992 - the light was automated
2000  - AMSA transferred 26 Lightstation properties, many with heritage listed buildings (Cape  Leeuwin included), back to Western Australia.
  The original lantern and lens are still in service The light designed for but never used on the lower light at Cape Leeuwin was later used on the second Rottnest light at Bathurst Point. The Light was built using State funds via the persistence of the Premier, Sir John Forrest as the Eastern States were unwilling to. The Light provided an essential guide for ships travelling to Albany which was then the Major Port for Western Australia
 

Photo by Myles Moran 1960s.  The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse stands as a solitary sentinel,  watching over where the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean meet.  As a child, encouraged by my Uncle Myles, I believed that the line of surf you can see directly off the Cape, were the two great bodies of water crashing together, sometimes in great anger.

Lighthouse Images
 

	This is the view which first meets you as you start the walk up towards the Lighthouse. It is so majestically tall and the closer you get, the more you have to crane your neck to see the top of the tower.  Now its only a matter of counting the steps as you slowly climb your way via the circular staircase to the top.   It never mattered what the season or weather was like when we showed visitors around. On a balmy summer's day it was glorious while on a rough winters day, it was spectacular.
	While the images below show the less familiar back view!
	Source: Tour brochure, plan originally Dept of Works. An interesting plan drawing simultaneously showing both the North and the East elevation
	It would appear that if built, the tower for the second light would have risen from the back section of the store room.

Lighthouse Keepers Cottages
 

Nestled together in the slight protection offered from the elements, these three of an original four cottages remain. The fourth was made of weatherboard.  Of the remaining cottages the two southern houses are made of the local limestone, while the northern house is made of local granite. There are plans for these to become available for accomodation in the management plans.

The Water Wheel
When showing off the beauties of the south west to city folk or overseas friends and relatives, Cape Leeuwin was always on the agenda. Either berore or after a visit to the Lighthouse, we would first call into the waterwheel and picnic area. Even though they are no longer there, I can still vividly recall the pebble encrusted cement tables near the Barbecues at which many a meal was eaten.

The Water Wheel was an ingenious solution to providing fresh water to the Lighthouse Keepers. Water was drawn from a fresh water swamp above sea level and carried by a timber channel to a water wheel which as it turned operated an hydraulic ram that pushed a steady supply of water up to the Lighthouse and the Keepers Cottages.
 

Photo by Myles Moran 1960s	The wooden wheel was calcified by the continually running fresh water, which in turn meant the wheel could no longer turn. The water was always sweet to drink after your barbecue or take away fish and chips.  The hydraulic pump mechanism can be seen just to the right of centre in this photo, although there are none of the original pipes visible which would have transported the water to the light and cottages.
	A 1963 family snap (showing a less environmentally aware attitude than today!) whereby we would all clamber to find the best position on the wheel, being sure to also have a something to hold onto as it was incredibly slippery. More than one of us ended up with a wet backside.
	1982 and time to introduce the next generation to the family tradition of having your photo taken at the water wheel. Still some water running, but not as much and the calcification did not seem so slippery or beautiful in its colours.
	... and in 2002 amidst much laughter and cries of "You've got to be joking!", from our youngest, we pose again.  With water no longer running, the wooden wheel has become exposed without the continual laying down of calcium and the wooden channel that carried the water to the wheel quite deteriorated. Sadly, it would appear that the water is no longer able to be drawn from the swamp. I believe that in this photo, our daughter is balancing on what is actually the remains of the hydraulic pump

The windblown vegetation with its gnarled and stunted trees and shrubs was an exciting setting as we invented all sorts of games and stories while waiting for the adults to be ready to go for a walk. The weather smoothed rocks were considered far too dangerous for the young ones to go exploring by themselves. This photo taken about 1985, shows the red and white banded communication masts which  have since been removed.

References:

• Cummings, Glasson & McCarthy, Lighthouses on the Western Australian coast and off-shore islands Publ: 1995
• Admiralty List of Lights and Fog Signals Vol K Publ: 1999
• Register of the National Database

    Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse - Database # 009399
    Cape Leeuwin Light Keepers Cottages - Database # 009491
    Water Wheel - Database # 009412
• Ayris, Cyril, Leeuwin Lighthouse a brief history Publ: 1996
• Brochures from the Tour Guides/ Augusta Margaret River Tourist Bureau

See also the following sites which feature Cape Leeuwin

Lighthouses of Australia Inc.Cape Leeuwin

Augusta and Cape Leeuwin Birding Sites