SPLIT POINT LIGHTHOUSE & COTTAGES 1891

Victoria’s treacherous coastline necessitated a string of lighthouses being set up from the border of South Australia to Queenscliff. Tenders were called on 2/5/1890 for the erection of a lighthouse, and staff quarters at Aireys Inlet. The construction of this landmark was let to R. Anderson and Sons of Richmond. This was to be one of the last major investments by the Colony of Victoria to help safepassage through Bass Strait.

Building material was at first thought to have been landed from a lighter in calm weather at Sandy Gully. After a vessel sank in heavy seas, working matter came via Wensleydale rail The 83 feet high structure at the top of the cliffs made the light 220 feet above sea level. The light was at first of incandescent mantle and kerosene vapour type.

The tower is constructed out of concrete with render and has a Chance Brothers first order lens with a 920mm focal radius.

Chance Brothers & Co. were for decades the main makers of complex lighthouse optical equipment. The company exported worldwide for about a century. It was founded in 1824 and was a family business for six generations.
In 1850 Chance Brothers started a Lighthouse department. A year later, their powerful First Order Lens was shown at the London Great Exhibition.
The firm glazed the Crystal Palace and Houses of Parliament, made the white glass for the four faces of Big Ben, and created ornamental windows for the White House in America.

This was converted in 1919 to automatic acetylene which flashed every 12 seconds. A change to electric rotating was made in 1972. A pre-1919 story relates that Richard Baker, the last keeper, scratched a small hole in the black paint at the rear of the then fixed lantern. This allowed him to retire to the Hotel and still check that the light was working!

Adjoining cottages were originally built for the head keeper and his two assistants. The head keeper resided in the large residence, and the semi-detached residences were occupied by his assistants. A speaking tube was used for cottage communication purposes. Tendering the light by night, keeping the flame 7.5cm high and during the day they washed spray off the windows and polished the lenses. They also communicated with passing ships and recorded the weather.

These premises became vacant when the manned light station was taken over by the Commonwealth Government, and converted to automatic control in 1919. After the light-keepers departed, the Commonwealth Government rented the staff cottages for £4-4-0 p.w. during holidays.

These were auctioned and sold with 13 allotments in 1935. The lighthouse stables were converted into a pleasant tea room and gallery in 1993.

The Split Point Lighthouse has also featured in literature, television shows and film. Boney, based on Authur W Upfields novel "The New Shoe", Homicide, "The Decimal Point" (1965), Alpha Scorpio (1974), Mad Max (1979), Dead Man's Float (1980), Around the Twist (1989 - 2001) and the Bollywood Movie" Salaam Namaste" (2005)

References:
Lindsay Braden’s, Early Aireys Inlet From Urquharts Bluff to Cinema Point
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum. www.birminghamstories.co.uk

A LIGHTHOUSE TOUR.

SOME VIEWS FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE