Fairy light. Glowering Southern Ocean skies
set the mood for the Griffiths Island Light-
house (above) on Victoria’s notorious western
coast. For 155 years it has ushered passing
vessels and a local fishing fleet to the sanctu-
ary of the Moyne River at Port Fairy. Now
connected to the township by a causeway,
this island’s low stature makes this one of our
most exposed onshore lighthouses – in big
seas the tower is lashed by surging waves.Going Strait. On the western doorstep to
Bass Strait, King Island’s Cape Wickham
Lighthouse (seen here with its keeper in
1983) was for many ships the first glimpse of
Australia after a 12,000-nautical-mile voyage
from the UK. Completed in 1861, early keep-
ers had much to contend with. As an 1873
report noted: “Certain lawless men who
have taken up their residence on the island...
make a practice of annoying the Superin-
tendent in every possible way, destroying
his cattle, pulling down the fences... I much
fear it will end in some serious injury to the
station or perhaps to the light itself.”PANORMAMIC: BRUCE HOOD / FLICKR; HISTORICAL: NAA54 Australian Geographic