Cape Schanck Lighthouse

About

The Cape Schanck Lighthouse is an active lighthouse and associated museum, located at Cape Schanck, at the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia. Built in 1859 as the second coastal lighthouse in Victoria, the 21-metre-tall (69 ft) tower was built from limestone. The light's focal plane is situated 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level, the light characteristic is the Morse code letter "N", a long signal of 10.8 seconds followed by a flash. Depending on the bearing of the light, the colours are either white (south to west sector) or red (east sector). Due to its powerful lantern of one million candela and a first order Fresnel lens, which was installed in 1915, the light has a range of 26 nautical miles (48 km). Operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the lighthouse is the first lighthouse tower with stone stairs built in Australia. The lighthouse was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 12 November 1998 in recognition of its historical, architectural, scientific, social and archaeological importance; and was also added to non-statutory lists by the Victorian branch of the National Trust on 23 November 1978 and the now defunct Register of the National Estate on 21 October 1980.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.