The Cape St George Lighthouse is in a dramatic coastal location. It's also in the wrong location.Credit:iStock
The sandstone blocks of the Cape St George Lighthouse tumble over each other in a higgledy-piggledy shambles. As the early morning light hits,there's a familiar vibe – like wandering alone round the ruins of a small Angkorian temple. But the coastal location adds to the drama. Come in winter and migrating humpback whales are regularly seen from the clifftop.
These days,the Cape St George Lighthouse is a beautiful,evocative and peaceful site inside the Booderee National Park,Jervis Bay. But this is perhaps Australia's most cursed lighthouse,and its story is one of calamitous error and personal tragedy.
For a start,the Cape St George Lighthouse is in the wrong place. It was built in 1860,and designed by colonial architect Alexander Dawson,who is best known for his work on the Sydney Observatory.
Eventually the lighthouse was destroyed with explosives,but its ruins remain.Credit:iStock
The planning stage was a comedy of errors. The Pilots Board wasn't given a say on the suitability of the site for ships,Dawson's map of the proposed location was less than comprehensive,and it seems a lazy contractor took advantage of that. The lighthouse was built about four kilometres north of where it was supposed to be,probably because it was easier to get the stone there.
The end result was a lighthouse that was pretty much useless. It couldn't be seen from the northern approach,and could barely be seen from the southern approach either.
It took 39 years for this mistake to be rectified. A new lighthouse was built at Point Perpendicular on Jervis Bay's northern head in 1899. But that was too late for several ships. The Department of Agriculture,Water and the Environment lists 13 ships that were wrecked around Jervis Bay in that period. Other sources estimate that significantly more met their end.
But even when the new,usefully-placed lighthouse had kicked into gear,there was a problem. There were now two lighthouses very close to each other. One of them marked the entrance to the bay,and the other could easily be mistaken for it. When the moonlight hit the sandstone,the Cape St George Lighthouse was an outright hazard,potentially luring ships onto the rocks.
Eventually,the decision was made to take the tower down with explosives,creating the ruins we see today.