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Cape St Alban Lighthouse
| Source: |
Go to the Register of the National Estate for more information. |
| Identifier: |
7426 |
| Location: |
Cape St Albans Rd, Penneshaw |
Local
Government: |
Kangaroo Island District |
| State: |
SA |
| Country: |
Australia |
Statement of
Significance: |
Historically, Cape St Alban Lighthouse is one of the earliest purpose built unattended lights established in South Australia. It was built during a period of transition in lighthouse technology when Australian maritime authorities and the South Australian Marine Board in particular, began to experiment with automatic illumination systems (Criterion F1). Cape St Alban Lighthouse formed part of a comprehensive system of coastal lighting established by the South Australian Marine Board before the Commonwealth Government assumed functional responsibility in 1915. Together with the other lights on Kangaroo Island, Cape St Alban Lighthouse continues to play an important role in providing navigational assistance to shipping serving Adelaide and other coastal centres in the region (Criterion A4). |
| Description: |
Kangaroo Island lies at the mouth of Gulf St Vincent separated from the South Australian mainland by Backstairs Passage to the east and Investigator Strait to the north.
More than fifty shipwrecks have occurred in the vicinity of the island since the beginning of settlement in 1836.
Cape Willoughby, the State's earliest coastal light, was established at the eastern extremity of the Island in 1852 to mark the approach to Backstairs Passage, the main highway between Adelaide and the eastern ports of Australia.
A second light was erected at Cape Borda on the Island's north-west coast in 1858 to provide navigational guidance for shipping entering and leaving Investigator Strait.
The South Australian Marine Board did not give priority to auxiliary lighting on Kangaroo Island until after the turn of the century when the State's network of major coastal lights had been established.
The Marine Board recommended the erection of a manned light at Cape du Couedic on the Island's rugged south coast in 1902 (although construction work was not completed until 1909).
In 1905 the Board also examined various options for improving the lighting of Backstairs Passage including upgrading the mainland light at Cape Jervis and erecting a new manned light on Cape St Alban on the Island's north-east tip.
The board initially regarded the latter proposal as too expensive, but after seeking advice from lighthouse authorities in England decided to reduce the cost by substituting an unwatched light.
Construction work began in June 1908 and the light was first exhibited on 20 November 1908.
The construction of the unwatched light at Cape St Alban cost 911 pounds, significantly less than the 17,638 pounds required for the three keeper station established concurrently at Cape du Couedic.
At the time of its construction Cape St Alban was one of only three unattended lights operating in South Australia.
The other two lights were established at Eastern Shoal in Spencer Gulf in 1902 and at Cape Donnington in 1905.
Both have since been replaced.
A further six unattended lights were subsequently established by the Marine Board (at Wardang Island, Wedge Island, Middle Bank, Shoalwater Point, Winceby Island and Dangerous Reef) before the Commonwealth Government assumed responsibility for coastal lighting in 1915, but these lights differed from the earlier unattended lights in their use of acetylene gas rather than kerosene as an illuminant.
The South Australian Marine Board pioneered the use of the acetylene system of automatic unwatched lights in Australia at this time. The system was developed by Gustav Dalen of Sweden between 1900-1910 and was subsequently widely adopted by lighthouse authorities.
Cape St Alban's white painted nine metre high circular masonry tower was constructed from local limestone.
It originally exhibited a fixed white light with a red sector over the scraper shoal, but this character was altered to a flashing mode when the illuminant was converted from kerosene to acetylene in 1914.
The tower was connected to mains electricity in 1976.
Originally the light was periodically checked by the keepers of the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse but, by 1912, the Marine Board employed a nearby resident of Antechamber Bay to visit the light once a day.
Cape St Alban was one of twenty four lights in South Australia transferred from the State to the Commonwealth when the latter assumed responsibility for coastal lighting in July 1915.
A report on the lighting of the south coast of Australia, prepared by Commander C R W
Brewis on behalf of an additional light was established on Marsden Point, on Kangaroo Island's northern tip in 1915, bringing the number of coastal lights on the island to five.
All of the towers were constructed using local stone, with the exception of Marsden Point which was a skeleton iron tower. |
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