Halfway between the equator and Antarctica, this corner of Australia is still one of the busiest sea routes. The Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean converge here creating rough seas and the rocky reef extends several kms out from the shore – the site of many shipwrecks.
The tour of the lighthouse was fascinating and so that you didn’t get knackered going up all the steps at once, our guide had a story to tell at each level. The couple that stuck in my mind are; 1) The lighthouse was still being lit by kerosene and rotated by a clockwork counterweight right up until 1982!
2) Two years before the Titanic disaster, another of the White Star liners sank after ‘striking an un-chartered object’ off Cape Leeuwin. Luckily, the seas were calm and all passengers & crew were rescued. At his enquiry, the long-serving captain was cleared and retired with an unblemished record, despite the fact that no ‘un-chartered object’ has ever been confirmed at those coordinates by the Admiralty. They now conclude that the captain was probably cutting the corner to save fuel & time and hit the very-much-chartered reef. However, his loyal crew lied about their position at the time of the impact in order to protect him. (I expect Lloyds paid out too!)
The tour of the lighthouse was fascinating and so that you didn’t get knackered going up all the steps at once, our guide had a story to tell at each level. The couple that stuck in my mind are; 1) The lighthouse was still being lit by kerosene and rotated by a clockwork counterweight right up until 1982!
2) Two years before the Titanic disaster, another of the White Star liners sank after ‘striking an un-chartered object’ off Cape Leeuwin. Luckily, the seas were calm and all passengers & crew were rescued. At his enquiry, the long-serving captain was cleared and retired with an unblemished record, despite the fact that no ‘un-chartered object’ has ever been confirmed at those coordinates by the Admiralty. They now conclude that the captain was probably cutting the corner to save fuel & time and hit the very-much-chartered reef. However, his loyal crew lied about their position at the time of the impact in order to protect him. (I expect Lloyds paid out too!)
