Point Lowly Lighthouse Called Unsafe
By Sue Clark on Jun 23, 2009 in News 
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Bureaucracy In Action - Or Inaction?
Point Lowly Lighthouse, near Whyalla in South Australia, has been deemed to be unsafe and the Whyalla Council (its owner and operator) must not turn the light on anymore, according to recent correspondence received by them from the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure. The reasoning for this decision is that the light itself has been decommissioned and that the station has been delisted from the Admiralty publications for navigation purpose.
This is all well and good, but it was removed from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority list of navigational aids back in 1993. Even more interesting, the light has not even been functioning since March, due to failure of the mechanism. However, a band-aid type repair was made and it was relighted temporarily for the Australian Snapper Fishing Championships in April.
Deactivated and Reactivated Erroneously
It seems that when the lighthouse, which sits on a point jutting into the northern end of the Spencer Gulf, was transferred to the Whyalla City Council it was not supposed to be used as a lighthouse anymore. But it also appears no one told the Council, who relit the light in 1995 after taking ownership and kept it going for the safety of the mariners. But because it was lit, it was deemed unsafe, since these mariners would have no idea what it was, as it’s not listed in the light list. Confused yet? In the letter received by the Council, besides telling them to turn off the non-functioning light, they were also informed it would be okay to light the beam for special events, but only if they changed the color to yellow from white, and reduced its intensity. According to a story at Adelaide Now, the Council will be investigating whether to change the light’s characteristics.
Oldest Building In Town
Point Lowly Lighthouse was built in in 1883 to replace a lightship that had been used for years. It’s the oldest building in the Whyalla area, and was originally 49 feet tall. It was raised to its current height of 75 feet in 1909. It is a white sandstone tower with a double gallery, and if you look closely at the photo (click to enlarge), it appears to still have its Fresnel lens.
The lighthouse area and beach is open to the public, and the former lighthouse keepers cottages are available for rental. It would be a shame if the beam of the lighthouse was dimmed, but better than not being used at all. However, an alternative would be to possibly apply for official recommissioning of the light? I’m unfamiliar with the precedents for this in Australia, so if anyone can shed any light on whether it could be officially relit, it would be appreciated. Let me know in comments below, or contact me directly.
Apparently there are no private aids to navigation in Australia, and it’s forbidden by law. As a lighthouse is decommissioned, it’s removed from light lists at that time. And there’s no provision to be relit. Perhaps a lighthouse group might want to explore getting the law changed to allow for privately run lighthouses, and to keep them on the light lists maintained by the government.
Photo Credits:
- Point Lowly Lighthouse at Night by ric.hayman. Some rights reserved.
- Point Lowly Lighthouse by yewenyi. Some rights reserved.
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1 Comment(s)
By armando on Aug 6, 2010 (4 weeks ago) | Reply
The light house is beautiful and you can’t think it is dangerous to stay.