Automated 1971 Construction granite tower Opened 1884 Focal height 52 m Year first constructed 1884 | Foundation granite bsement Height 12 m Range 33,336 m Original len Fresnel lens | |
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Location Bass Strait
17 nmi S of Port Albert, Victoria
Australia Tower shape cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern Markings / pattern unpainted tower, white lantern and gallery Similar Whalers Bluff Lighthouse, Gabo Island Lighthouse, Bass Strait, Queenscliff Low Light, Cape Liptrap Lighthouse | ||
The Cliffy Island Lighthouse is located atop Cliffy Island, a steep-sided island which is the summit of a granite submarine mountain in the Bass Strait. Cliffy Island is located about 32 kilometres directly south of Port Albert, and roughly 38 kilometres to the northeast of Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse in Victoria, Australia. The lighthouse warns approaching vessels of rocks in Bass Strait by emitting a flash of white light every five seconds. The focal plane of the lightsource and Fresnel lens is situated 52 metres above sea level. The site is managed by the Victoria Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, while the lighthouse itself is operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). The island is accessible only by helicopter, and the entire site is closed to the public.
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History
Cliffy Island lighthouse was constructed on site in 1884 from granite quarried on the island. In addition to the lighthouse, there was a stone cottage for the head lighthouse keeper and his family. This structure was nearly identical to the one at Cape Nelson (they were both built in the same year, probably from the same set of blueprints). There was also a duplex wooden structure that served as the residence of the two assistant keepers and their families. The keeper's houses were demolished in 1971, when the lighthouse was automated; the stone walls that surrounded the houses remain.