Cape St. George Lighthouse (Australia)

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Cape St George Lighthouse was constructed in the wrong place on the Jervis Bay peninsula and was demolished in 1900. Its remains are listed on the National Heritage List.

{{australia-struct-stub} History

Recommended in 1856, controversy surrounded this light before construction had even began and completed in 1860. Decisions on the need for a light and its location were made without even consulting the Pilots Board, the controlling authority, about the efficiency of a light at that location.

The problem was that the light was could not be visible from the Northern approach to Jervis Bay, and would barely be visible from the southern approach. Furthermore, the original map and marking of the proposed lighthouse location were so inaccurate that later there were doubts as whether the light had been erected on the selected sight. On top of this inaccuracy the contractor seems to have built the light closer to the quarry he was obtaining the stone from! In fact when inspected by members of the Pilots board it was found to be two and a half miles north of the intended site.

A Select Committee was established by the New South Wales Government to investigate the errors in locating the lighthouse.

From 1864 to 1893 there were twenty three ships wrecked on the South Coast of NSW in the vicinity of Jervis Bay.

The light was eventually replaced in 1889 by a new lighthouse at Point Perpendicular, a much more suitable location for a lighthouse on this part of the coast. The lantern was removed and later used in the Crookhaven Heads Lighthouse built in 1904.

After the commissioning of the new light it was considered that the confusion of having two towers in close proximity to one another would be a hazard to mariner in daylight. As a result, the Cape St George Tower was unceremoniously used from 1917 to 1922 for target practice by the Australian Navy and destroyed. rohans not normal