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Cliffy Island Lighthouse
Cliffy Island Lighthouse.jpg
Cliffy Island Lighthouse, 1917
Cliffy Island Lighthouse is located in Victoria
Cliffy Island Lighthouse
Cliffy Island Lighthouse
Location in Victoria
Location Bass Strait
17 nmi S of Port Albert, Victoria
Australia
Coordinates 38°57′02.6″S 146°42′20.5″E / 38.950722°S 146.705694°E / -38.950722; 146.705694
Year first constructed 1884
Automated 1971
Foundation granite basement
Construction granite tower
Tower shape cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern unpainted tower, white lantern and gallery
Height 12 metres (39 ft)
Focal height 52 metres (171 ft)
Original lens Fresnel lens
Intensity 15,300 cd
Range 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 5s.
Admiralty number K2500
NGA number 7204
ARLHS number A US-059

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.

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.

Adjacent Lighthouses

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