Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Great Aussie Adventure - Day 8 - State 3
This morning found me in Mount Gambier. I woke up to rain and overcast skies. I know that before I had said that it was cloudy and drizzling, but this morning was a real downpour!! But I went to see the crater lakes in Mount Gambier. They were formed by volcanos many, many, many years ago. One lake is called Blue Lake and supposedly changes colors during the day. But since it was cold and raining, I didn’t stay to see the different colors. (I have since learned that the color change is only noticeable in the summer. Good thing I didn‘t wait around!!) There is also Valley Lake which is just big and very pretty!!
Lake Brown and Leg of Mutton Lakes have been long ago filled in and now huge trees and grass are where the lakes used to be.
In the area is also Century Tower. This was a nice tower, but it was closed and because there was so much fog and mist and rain, (and it was a steep climb to the tower), I did not hike up to it. This tower was opened in 1904 and was built to commemorate the 100 years since Mount Gambier was sighted and named by Lt James Grant aboard “The Lady Nelson”.
I then drove to Carpenter Rocks and saw Cape Banks Lighthouse. It is a very orange lighthouse, but very cute. And the surrounding cliffs and water was so pretty. It was so stormy and gray, but still very cool! (I was kind of wishing it was a blue sky - Denver Bronco colors, but you can’t have everything!)
This lighthouse is special in that it is one of three lighthouses left with a 14-sided Deville lantern room. Of course there are no tours of this lighthouse, so I couldn’t see what they were talking about!! This lighthouse was built in 1883. Originally it was 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall and was made of local limestone. The lantern was used from the old MacDonnell Lighthouse at Cape Northumberland when it was demolished in 1882. It was an alternating revolving, one red and two white flashes. It had only two keepers’ quarters a shed, a store and the light itself. The buildings were all separate, with the residences located ‘below’ the lighthouse in a depression, presumably to provide some degree of protection from the elements. In 1928, it was increased to 15 meters (49 feet) tall. At this time the light was demanned and the keeper’s cottage demolished. In 1976, the light was converted to electricity using the lens from St. Francis Island. This lighthouse is 27.6 meters (91 feet) above sea level and is seen for 15 Nautical Miles.
This lighthouse was necessary due to one especially bad ship wreck in 1859. “The Admella was the finest steamer of the Australian coasting fleet in 1859. It was carrying 113 people on this voyage, destined to be its last. Some were travelling to the Victorian goldfields, some to family reunions, and some to a Melbourne horse race. Most would never reach their destinations. Below is a fragment of time from the eight days that the survivors clung to the wreck.
“Friday, 5 August 1859 - Admella stands off at Glenelg to allow for any leaving or joining passengers…there are none…continues down Gulf of St Vincent…
”Saturday, 6 August - …5am, foggy, cold and like the teeth of a saw, Carpenter Rocks breaks Admella into three sections, one mile from shore. Shocked passengers cling to the rigging in their night clothes; others are washed away…three desperate attempts to reach the shore fail…
”Sunday, 7 August - …two children drown, strapped to their father’s back as he attempts to haul himself from the bow to the safer aft section, fifteen succeed. After three hours on a raft, two reach the shore and stumble off for help…
”Monday, 8 August - …Many suffering from exposure, with swollen and painful limbs…three thimblefuls given to each survivor of desiccated milk, currants and brandy. News of the disaster finally reaches the Adelaide Post Office…
”Tuesday, 9 August - …rescuers arrive on the beach. Almonds distributed on the wreck…many chew strips of lead to ease their thirst….a screaming survivor dives into the sea, having drunk seawater…more die quietly during the night, rolling off the deck or dropping from the rigging…
”Wednesday, 10 August - …less than half remain…sea conditions worsen…some wait for death with glazed eyes; others talk of worldly possessions. The shore party repair one of Admella’s washed up boats with soap and canvas and try to gain to reach the vessel. People die through out the day. The steamer Corio arrives…
”Thursday, 11 August - …rescue attempts by the shore party and Corio’s pilot boat fail. More die of cold and starvation, including two or the three remaining women. More rescuers arrive on the beach, swelling the number to over one hundred…
”Friday, 12 August - …Corio departs for more coal. The Ant and the Lady Bird arrive, towing the Portland lifeboat and a whale boat. Survivors described as ‘looking like seals perched on a rock’…almost beyond caring and too weak to assist in the first rescue attempts…many vow to not live past the next afternoon. Thirty remain…
”Saturday, 13 August - …thoughts of cannibalism…thoughts of suicide…more die during the night. Two rescue boats from shore reach Admella - a line is thrown, and four survivors drag themselves along it…three survive. Boats from the waiting vessels arrive…and those remaining also find the strength to lower themselves down a line to safety. Twenty four survived the wreck.
”Postscript - Hurtle Fisher, one of the passengers who survived the ordeal lost almost 22kg (48.5 pounds) in body weight. His horse named “The Barber”, one of six horses on board survived. On 2 October 1859, “The Barber” ran in the inaugural Championship Sweepstake in Melbourne. Although it didn’t win the race, it was know as a “champion swimmer”.
And then off to Beachport to find Cape Martin Lighthouse and Penguin Island Lighthouse. Penguin Island lighthouse is no longer in use. In fact there is not even a light on top. The island is inaccessible, even by boat, as it is now a bird sanctuary. This lighthouse was built on the island in 1878. There were two lighthouse keepers stationed on the island. The original light was third order Chance Brothers with a wick burner powered mineral oil. In 1909, an incandescent apparatus was used, and then in 1918, it was converted to acetylene gas and demanned. In 1960, the light was extinguished and re-established at Cape Martin on the mainland.
Cape Martin Lighthouse has the lantern from the Penguin Island Lighthouse. Originally, this lighthouse was 4.5 meters (15 feet) tall, but this was not tall enough to be seen from the ocean, as the surrounding sand dunes obscured the light. In 1974 the lantern was converted to electricity and in 1980, the tower was raised to 12 meters using precast concrete slabs. This lighthouse is now 38 meters (125 feet) in elevation and is seen for 18 Nautical miles. It flashes every 20 seconds.
I walked around Beachport (it had stopped raining by this point) and looked at the cute town. (The red car in the second photo is my car!!)
My next stop was Robe. (They’re not famous for Robes.)
I saw the lighthouse here, it is a very modern lighthouse as it was built in 1972 - a very good year!! It was quite modern looking though, not like the usual lighthouses. But judge for yourself. It is a star-shaped lighthouse was built as an automated unmanned light to replace the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse. It is 3.5 meters (11 ½ feet) wide at the bottom and slants towards 5 meters (16 feet) wide at the top. It stands at an elevation of 63 meters (207 feet), is 19 meters (62 feet) tall and is seen for 20 nautical miles. It has a group flash 3 times every 10 seconds.
In Robe, I also saw an old goal (jail) ruins, interesting rocks out in the ocean, The Obelisk and some cute churches. The Obelisk was built to store rockets fired to distressed ships carrying life lines and baskets for bringing passengers ashore. It was originally painted white, but it blended in with the limestone cliffs, so it was repainted red and white. It’s an interesting structure. The sinking of the Admella played an important part in the history of the goal. “In contrast an official bungle at this goal was put right by the remains of the ill fated Admella. There was concern about the standard of workmanship when the goal was built: two early prisoners picked their way through the walls using a hook made from light winder fastening. The prisoners were soon caught but the escape led to the reinforcement of the cells’ walls with boiler plates salvaged from the wreck of the Admella.” Near the Obelisk, there was an small light on a steel pole, I’m not sure what it is, but you can decide for yourself what it might be.
From Robe, I headed west towards Cape Jaffa. I drove to Cape Jaffa along the water as the lighthouse platform is supposed to be visible from here, but I sure could not find it. So I drove to Kingston S.E. where the Cape Jaffa lighthouse had been relocated. Originally, this lighthouse was built on Margaret Brock Reef off Cape Jaffa, as a pile light in 1872. At first, there was a multi-wick oil burner, but was replace by a pressurised kerosene burner in 1909. This lighting apparatus was turned off in 1973 and is believed to have been the last of its type to operate in Australia. This type of lighthouse is know as ‘Wells Screw Pile‘. This lighthouse was built in England, dismantled, shipped to Australia and then constructed on Margaret Brock Reef. It took 3 years to reconstruct rather than the proposed 1 year. The weather was calm when the site was chosen, but during the time of construction, the seas were wild. Some of the parts were washed away and contractors could not do any work for a few days. This lighthouse was not manned, and 1972, with the construction of the Robe Lighthouse, this was closed. The lighthouse was moved to Kingston and turned into a museum in 1976. While still in use, the light flashed 5/10 of a second every 3 ¾ seconds. It was 41 meters (135 feet) above sea level, was 41 meters tall and seen for 16 Nautical Miles.
There is a museum here, but my camera battery died and I would not have been able to get photos inside, so I just got photos of the lighthouse and then off to find batteries. Also in Kingston S.E. is another Big Thing. A Lobster. I originally thought the Big Thing I saw in Stanley, Tasmania was a lobster, but realize now that the first one must have been a prawn, or some other kind of shellfish! But that’s not important. This lobster is truly a big thing!!
And then I drove to Murray Bridge where I am spending the night. The drive was really pretty with rainbows and sunset orange and pink and amazing cloud formations! (The sunset and clouds were orange and pink, the rainbows were the colors of a rainbow!) And it was also pretty with all the cows and sheep grazing in the green grass as the sun was breaking through the clouds!
Oh, I stopped in Meningie because I needed some caffeine for the last hour of my drive and I saw a post card with the Point Malcolm Lighthouse on it!!! I added 3 exclamation points because the Point Malcolm Lighthouse is on private property and is inaccessible to the public! But now, I have a photograph postcard of it! Excellent! It is the only lighthouse that is inland in the Southern Hemisphere. It was built in 1878 between Lake Alexandria and Lake Albert, opposite Narrung which is a small Aboriginal community. This lighthouse was built to assist ships passing through Lake Alexandria on the way to Lake Albert or the ports of the Murray River. The light was turned off in 1931 as there was less river traffic. An automatic light on a steel pole was installed next to the old tower, to guide any ships using the old route. This light revolved with a flash every 10 seconds and then was altered to a fixed white light in 1887. It is 25 meters (82 feet) in elevation, is 7 meters (23 feet) tall and has a range of 10 kilometres. (I’m not sure if they use Km’s here rather than nautical miles because it is inland?)
Lake Brown and Leg of Mutton Lakes have been long ago filled in and now huge trees and grass are where the lakes used to be.
In the area is also Century Tower. This was a nice tower, but it was closed and because there was so much fog and mist and rain, (and it was a steep climb to the tower), I did not hike up to it. This tower was opened in 1904 and was built to commemorate the 100 years since Mount Gambier was sighted and named by Lt James Grant aboard “The Lady Nelson”.
I then drove to Carpenter Rocks and saw Cape Banks Lighthouse. It is a very orange lighthouse, but very cute. And the surrounding cliffs and water was so pretty. It was so stormy and gray, but still very cool! (I was kind of wishing it was a blue sky - Denver Bronco colors, but you can’t have everything!)
This lighthouse is special in that it is one of three lighthouses left with a 14-sided Deville lantern room. Of course there are no tours of this lighthouse, so I couldn’t see what they were talking about!! This lighthouse was built in 1883. Originally it was 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall and was made of local limestone. The lantern was used from the old MacDonnell Lighthouse at Cape Northumberland when it was demolished in 1882. It was an alternating revolving, one red and two white flashes. It had only two keepers’ quarters a shed, a store and the light itself. The buildings were all separate, with the residences located ‘below’ the lighthouse in a depression, presumably to provide some degree of protection from the elements. In 1928, it was increased to 15 meters (49 feet) tall. At this time the light was demanned and the keeper’s cottage demolished. In 1976, the light was converted to electricity using the lens from St. Francis Island. This lighthouse is 27.6 meters (91 feet) above sea level and is seen for 15 Nautical Miles.
This lighthouse was necessary due to one especially bad ship wreck in 1859. “The Admella was the finest steamer of the Australian coasting fleet in 1859. It was carrying 113 people on this voyage, destined to be its last. Some were travelling to the Victorian goldfields, some to family reunions, and some to a Melbourne horse race. Most would never reach their destinations. Below is a fragment of time from the eight days that the survivors clung to the wreck.
“Friday, 5 August 1859 - Admella stands off at Glenelg to allow for any leaving or joining passengers…there are none…continues down Gulf of St Vincent…
”Saturday, 6 August - …5am, foggy, cold and like the teeth of a saw, Carpenter Rocks breaks Admella into three sections, one mile from shore. Shocked passengers cling to the rigging in their night clothes; others are washed away…three desperate attempts to reach the shore fail…
”Sunday, 7 August - …two children drown, strapped to their father’s back as he attempts to haul himself from the bow to the safer aft section, fifteen succeed. After three hours on a raft, two reach the shore and stumble off for help…
”Monday, 8 August - …Many suffering from exposure, with swollen and painful limbs…three thimblefuls given to each survivor of desiccated milk, currants and brandy. News of the disaster finally reaches the Adelaide Post Office…
”Tuesday, 9 August - …rescuers arrive on the beach. Almonds distributed on the wreck…many chew strips of lead to ease their thirst….a screaming survivor dives into the sea, having drunk seawater…more die quietly during the night, rolling off the deck or dropping from the rigging…
”Wednesday, 10 August - …less than half remain…sea conditions worsen…some wait for death with glazed eyes; others talk of worldly possessions. The shore party repair one of Admella’s washed up boats with soap and canvas and try to gain to reach the vessel. People die through out the day. The steamer Corio arrives…
”Thursday, 11 August - …rescue attempts by the shore party and Corio’s pilot boat fail. More die of cold and starvation, including two or the three remaining women. More rescuers arrive on the beach, swelling the number to over one hundred…
”Friday, 12 August - …Corio departs for more coal. The Ant and the Lady Bird arrive, towing the Portland lifeboat and a whale boat. Survivors described as ‘looking like seals perched on a rock’…almost beyond caring and too weak to assist in the first rescue attempts…many vow to not live past the next afternoon. Thirty remain…
”Saturday, 13 August - …thoughts of cannibalism…thoughts of suicide…more die during the night. Two rescue boats from shore reach Admella - a line is thrown, and four survivors drag themselves along it…three survive. Boats from the waiting vessels arrive…and those remaining also find the strength to lower themselves down a line to safety. Twenty four survived the wreck.
”Postscript - Hurtle Fisher, one of the passengers who survived the ordeal lost almost 22kg (48.5 pounds) in body weight. His horse named “The Barber”, one of six horses on board survived. On 2 October 1859, “The Barber” ran in the inaugural Championship Sweepstake in Melbourne. Although it didn’t win the race, it was know as a “champion swimmer”.
And then off to Beachport to find Cape Martin Lighthouse and Penguin Island Lighthouse. Penguin Island lighthouse is no longer in use. In fact there is not even a light on top. The island is inaccessible, even by boat, as it is now a bird sanctuary. This lighthouse was built on the island in 1878. There were two lighthouse keepers stationed on the island. The original light was third order Chance Brothers with a wick burner powered mineral oil. In 1909, an incandescent apparatus was used, and then in 1918, it was converted to acetylene gas and demanned. In 1960, the light was extinguished and re-established at Cape Martin on the mainland.
Cape Martin Lighthouse has the lantern from the Penguin Island Lighthouse. Originally, this lighthouse was 4.5 meters (15 feet) tall, but this was not tall enough to be seen from the ocean, as the surrounding sand dunes obscured the light. In 1974 the lantern was converted to electricity and in 1980, the tower was raised to 12 meters using precast concrete slabs. This lighthouse is now 38 meters (125 feet) in elevation and is seen for 18 Nautical miles. It flashes every 20 seconds.
I walked around Beachport (it had stopped raining by this point) and looked at the cute town. (The red car in the second photo is my car!!)
My next stop was Robe. (They’re not famous for Robes.)
I saw the lighthouse here, it is a very modern lighthouse as it was built in 1972 - a very good year!! It was quite modern looking though, not like the usual lighthouses. But judge for yourself. It is a star-shaped lighthouse was built as an automated unmanned light to replace the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse. It is 3.5 meters (11 ½ feet) wide at the bottom and slants towards 5 meters (16 feet) wide at the top. It stands at an elevation of 63 meters (207 feet), is 19 meters (62 feet) tall and is seen for 20 nautical miles. It has a group flash 3 times every 10 seconds.
In Robe, I also saw an old goal (jail) ruins, interesting rocks out in the ocean, The Obelisk and some cute churches. The Obelisk was built to store rockets fired to distressed ships carrying life lines and baskets for bringing passengers ashore. It was originally painted white, but it blended in with the limestone cliffs, so it was repainted red and white. It’s an interesting structure. The sinking of the Admella played an important part in the history of the goal. “In contrast an official bungle at this goal was put right by the remains of the ill fated Admella. There was concern about the standard of workmanship when the goal was built: two early prisoners picked their way through the walls using a hook made from light winder fastening. The prisoners were soon caught but the escape led to the reinforcement of the cells’ walls with boiler plates salvaged from the wreck of the Admella.” Near the Obelisk, there was an small light on a steel pole, I’m not sure what it is, but you can decide for yourself what it might be.
From Robe, I headed west towards Cape Jaffa. I drove to Cape Jaffa along the water as the lighthouse platform is supposed to be visible from here, but I sure could not find it. So I drove to Kingston S.E. where the Cape Jaffa lighthouse had been relocated. Originally, this lighthouse was built on Margaret Brock Reef off Cape Jaffa, as a pile light in 1872. At first, there was a multi-wick oil burner, but was replace by a pressurised kerosene burner in 1909. This lighting apparatus was turned off in 1973 and is believed to have been the last of its type to operate in Australia. This type of lighthouse is know as ‘Wells Screw Pile‘. This lighthouse was built in England, dismantled, shipped to Australia and then constructed on Margaret Brock Reef. It took 3 years to reconstruct rather than the proposed 1 year. The weather was calm when the site was chosen, but during the time of construction, the seas were wild. Some of the parts were washed away and contractors could not do any work for a few days. This lighthouse was not manned, and 1972, with the construction of the Robe Lighthouse, this was closed. The lighthouse was moved to Kingston and turned into a museum in 1976. While still in use, the light flashed 5/10 of a second every 3 ¾ seconds. It was 41 meters (135 feet) above sea level, was 41 meters tall and seen for 16 Nautical Miles.
There is a museum here, but my camera battery died and I would not have been able to get photos inside, so I just got photos of the lighthouse and then off to find batteries. Also in Kingston S.E. is another Big Thing. A Lobster. I originally thought the Big Thing I saw in Stanley, Tasmania was a lobster, but realize now that the first one must have been a prawn, or some other kind of shellfish! But that’s not important. This lobster is truly a big thing!!
And then I drove to Murray Bridge where I am spending the night. The drive was really pretty with rainbows and sunset orange and pink and amazing cloud formations! (The sunset and clouds were orange and pink, the rainbows were the colors of a rainbow!) And it was also pretty with all the cows and sheep grazing in the green grass as the sun was breaking through the clouds!
Oh, I stopped in Meningie because I needed some caffeine for the last hour of my drive and I saw a post card with the Point Malcolm Lighthouse on it!!! I added 3 exclamation points because the Point Malcolm Lighthouse is on private property and is inaccessible to the public! But now, I have a photograph postcard of it! Excellent! It is the only lighthouse that is inland in the Southern Hemisphere. It was built in 1878 between Lake Alexandria and Lake Albert, opposite Narrung which is a small Aboriginal community. This lighthouse was built to assist ships passing through Lake Alexandria on the way to Lake Albert or the ports of the Murray River. The light was turned off in 1931 as there was less river traffic. An automatic light on a steel pole was installed next to the old tower, to guide any ships using the old route. This light revolved with a flash every 10 seconds and then was altered to a fixed white light in 1887. It is 25 meters (82 feet) in elevation, is 7 meters (23 feet) tall and has a range of 10 kilometres. (I’m not sure if they use Km’s here rather than nautical miles because it is inland?)
Labels:
Australia,
Cape Banks,
Cape Jaffa,
Cape Martin,
Lighthouse,
Mount Gambier,
Penguin Island,
Robe,
South Australia
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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!
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