Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Great Aussie Adventure - Day 5
This morning I woke up in St. Helens to the fog and cold and drizzle. The morning mist on the hills was awesome!!!
After this amazing misty area, I headed out to find Eddystone Point Lighthouse. And I’m so glad I found it. This has got to be my favorite lighthouse in Tasmania!! (Well, it’s between this and Mersey Bluff in Devonport!!) It was an 18km drive (11 miles) down a dirt road to the turnoff to Eddystone Point and then another 12 km (7.5 miles) down another (worse) dirt road to the lighthouse! I was a bit stressed out that I wouldn’t make it in time to get the car back to the airport and then make my flight, but it was well worth it!!! I returned the car with 2 minutes to spare and checked in for the flight just an hour before the flight left!!
Eddystone Point is a light stone and really really tall, and of course the surrounding area is just beautiful!! Kathleen Stanley in her book 'Guiding Lights' states: "Though officially described as white granite and as pink granite painted white, the shaft of the tower has never been painted on the outside and retains its original grey colour. The door is approached by an imaginative and beautiful flight of steps in the form of a flying buttress."
This lighthouse is 42 meters (138 feet) above sea level, is 35 meters (115 feet) tall and can been seen for 26 Nautical Miles. The light flashes twice in 15 seconds. The Eddystone Point Lighthouse was a necessary addition to the Tasmanian Lighthouses. Bass Strait has lighthouses in Victoria, but north bound ships were still being wrecked at Victoria Rocks, Georges Rocks and Black Reef in Tasmania. It took the discovery of a hazardous rock just below the water line off St. Helens Point in 1875 to prompt the decision to built a lighthouse here. The two points considered were Eddystone Point and Georges Rocks. Georges Rocks would have been better, but Eddystone Point was easier to access and build, and was therefore chosen. The plans were laid by 1879, but nothing was done until 1889, when the tower was finally built and exhibited. There was a heavy storm in the early 1920’s in which the tower was flooded.
A funny (to me) entry was found in the Herbert Isaacs’ (head keeper) log on 3rd Sept 1939 after the outbreak of World War II: "Transmit following message to all British Merchant vessels with which you may be in contact during the next 24 hours. Message begins. 'War has broken out with Germany you must not go to German or adjacent ports. Message ends" Deputy Director Navy ..."
There were a lot of wallabies running around the state park on the drive in and out of the park. They don’t seem to have any concerns about hopping in front of the car! No worries, all is well and they are all alive! I’m at the airport now waiting for another 10 minutes or so before I board my flight to Melbourne. So I’d better sign off now, but stay tuned!
Out of the 25 Tasmanian Lighthouses, I was able to see 13. There are seven that are on islands, one of which is totally inaccessible unless you are involved with weather watching on Maatsuyker Island. It is a big important weather station island that just happens to have a lighthouse. The other six island lighthouses are accessible, but I was running out of time for the several day tours, and I figured I’d be out of money by the time I got to Perth, so I had to cut out a few things. Five lighthouses are not accessible by land, even with 4 wheel drive, there are no roads going to these and no tours to see them from the water. As for the last lighthouse, I was just out of time. But all in all, a very nice 5 days, 4 nights in Tasmania.
Well, I arrived safely in Melbourne and picked up another Hyundai Getz - red this time. I got lost coming out of the airport and 1.5 hours later I found the correct freeway and 30 minutes after that, I was heading in the right direction on the right freeway!! Of course all of this was going on between 4 and 6pm - right in the middle of rush hour traffic!! But I made it to Healesville Victoria (in the dark). Tomorrow I will take a look at the scenery!! Thank goodness Eddystone Point Lighthouse was so cool!!
After this amazing misty area, I headed out to find Eddystone Point Lighthouse. And I’m so glad I found it. This has got to be my favorite lighthouse in Tasmania!! (Well, it’s between this and Mersey Bluff in Devonport!!) It was an 18km drive (11 miles) down a dirt road to the turnoff to Eddystone Point and then another 12 km (7.5 miles) down another (worse) dirt road to the lighthouse! I was a bit stressed out that I wouldn’t make it in time to get the car back to the airport and then make my flight, but it was well worth it!!! I returned the car with 2 minutes to spare and checked in for the flight just an hour before the flight left!!
Eddystone Point is a light stone and really really tall, and of course the surrounding area is just beautiful!! Kathleen Stanley in her book 'Guiding Lights' states: "Though officially described as white granite and as pink granite painted white, the shaft of the tower has never been painted on the outside and retains its original grey colour. The door is approached by an imaginative and beautiful flight of steps in the form of a flying buttress."
This lighthouse is 42 meters (138 feet) above sea level, is 35 meters (115 feet) tall and can been seen for 26 Nautical Miles. The light flashes twice in 15 seconds. The Eddystone Point Lighthouse was a necessary addition to the Tasmanian Lighthouses. Bass Strait has lighthouses in Victoria, but north bound ships were still being wrecked at Victoria Rocks, Georges Rocks and Black Reef in Tasmania. It took the discovery of a hazardous rock just below the water line off St. Helens Point in 1875 to prompt the decision to built a lighthouse here. The two points considered were Eddystone Point and Georges Rocks. Georges Rocks would have been better, but Eddystone Point was easier to access and build, and was therefore chosen. The plans were laid by 1879, but nothing was done until 1889, when the tower was finally built and exhibited. There was a heavy storm in the early 1920’s in which the tower was flooded.
A funny (to me) entry was found in the Herbert Isaacs’ (head keeper) log on 3rd Sept 1939 after the outbreak of World War II: "Transmit following message to all British Merchant vessels with which you may be in contact during the next 24 hours. Message begins. 'War has broken out with Germany you must not go to German or adjacent ports. Message ends" Deputy Director Navy ..."
There were a lot of wallabies running around the state park on the drive in and out of the park. They don’t seem to have any concerns about hopping in front of the car! No worries, all is well and they are all alive! I’m at the airport now waiting for another 10 minutes or so before I board my flight to Melbourne. So I’d better sign off now, but stay tuned!
Out of the 25 Tasmanian Lighthouses, I was able to see 13. There are seven that are on islands, one of which is totally inaccessible unless you are involved with weather watching on Maatsuyker Island. It is a big important weather station island that just happens to have a lighthouse. The other six island lighthouses are accessible, but I was running out of time for the several day tours, and I figured I’d be out of money by the time I got to Perth, so I had to cut out a few things. Five lighthouses are not accessible by land, even with 4 wheel drive, there are no roads going to these and no tours to see them from the water. As for the last lighthouse, I was just out of time. But all in all, a very nice 5 days, 4 nights in Tasmania.
Well, I arrived safely in Melbourne and picked up another Hyundai Getz - red this time. I got lost coming out of the airport and 1.5 hours later I found the correct freeway and 30 minutes after that, I was heading in the right direction on the right freeway!! Of course all of this was going on between 4 and 6pm - right in the middle of rush hour traffic!! But I made it to Healesville Victoria (in the dark). Tomorrow I will take a look at the scenery!! Thank goodness Eddystone Point Lighthouse was so cool!!
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About Me
- Laura
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- I'm originally from Colorado, but I've been living in Australia for three years. Before that, I lived all over the U.S.: Washington State, Maine, California, Oregon, Nebraska, North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and more... No, I'm not a military brat or a military wife; I was a traveling nurse for 5 years so I moved to a new city every 3 months. During my travels, I became intrigued with lighthouses and started making plans to photograph as many as I could in whichever state I was living (including the two in Nebraska!) My blog is about my trips to various lighthouses, as well as other interesting trips. I hope you enjoy reading, and leave a comment or two!
4 comments:
Ooh, I love the early morning fog pictures!
I know TT, it was so amazing!! Thanks for the fix up!
Very majestic lighthouse - Eddystone Point. I also liked the pictures of the scenery.
That's what I thought about Eddystone Point as well!! Made getting lost in Melbourne a bit less annoying!!
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