Page 8 - John Muir Elementary School - Division 8

Exploring the Lighthouse

A Brief History of the Lighthouse...

Following construction of the fog alarm building - ca 1926

25 km away. The lens rotated through a clockwork mechanism of pulleys
and weights – each about 180 kg – that had to be re-wound every three
hours. Because of the size and weight of the lens, it was seated in a bed of
liquid mercury, to allow it to turn without much friction.

In 1925, a fog-alarm building was added to the site, and a new “diaphone”
(two-tone) fog-horn was installed. Originally a wooden, peaked-roof
building, constructed in front of the tower, this building was replaced in
1976 with the concrete block building that is still on site. The diesel en-
gines that provided power for the site were also located in this building.

A number of other structures were added to the site over the years, includ- Following construction of the boat house - 1912
ing radio towers and sheds, a fallout shelter (that was actually never used
as such, but was used to grow mushrooms), other utility buildings and, in
1964, a new, more updated house for the Lightkeeper.

During the 1980s, the Lighthouse was automated and it was finally de-
staffed in 1989 when the last lightkeeper left. Except for the tower and
the engine room (fog-alarm building), all the other structures on site were
taken down, or deliberately burned, to avoid vandalism.

Left largely unattended for the next thirty years, the Lighthouse began
to deteriorate and was in danger of being lost forever. Then, after many
years of lobbying by the local community, in 2015, it was transferred to the
Sheringham Point Lighthouse Preservation Society, and it is now being
restored to its original glory.

Sheringham Point Lighthouse Preservation Society Page 8