Celebrating the Tasman Island LightCelebrating the Tasman Island Light 

On Tasman Island, bordering Storm Bay off Cape Pillar, in south-east Tasmania, the Tasman Island lighthouse is one of Australia's most isolated lighthouses. Following years of debate and challenges around its construction, the light was officially opened 120 years ago in April 1906. Today it is the highest operating light in Australia at 276 metres above sea level, remaining a vital aid to seafarers.

Tasman Island’s original first order lens, now on display in the museum, was at the heart of the lighthouse’s lifesaving work for over 70 years before being automated in the 70s. In recent years the island has seen significant regeneration under the care of Wildcare Tasmania volunteers Friends of Tasman Island and the Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service.

Named after Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, who sighted the island in 1642, Tasman Island lies just off the Tasman Peninsula on the south-eastern coast of Tasmania.  Approaching the island, the visitor is met with impressive, soaring dolerite cliffs, formed by molten magma that cooled and solidified beneath the earth’s surface. These sheer rock formations tower above sea level, reaching heights of almost 250 metres. At nearby Cape Pillar, easily visible from the Island, they tower up to 300 metres – the tallest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere.  Above these is the high plateau of the island, ranging from 200 to 240 metres. The island is 1.2 square km in total.

Ruggedly beautiful, the coastline represented a formidable hazard to shipping. D S Rich, master of the barque Pet, called for a lighthouse in the location in 1864, stating “I have been very many years trading to and from this colony, and my greatest anxiety always commences when I am nearing Cape Pillar, and its adjacent dangerous coast and half submerged rocks, and I believe the same anxiety is also felt by the master of every vessel bound to or from Hobart Town”. While many ships, including the barqueTyne and the schooler Don Pedro, came to grief at the approach to the Derwent Estuary, it was not until 1885 that representations from captains who recognised the dangers of the area led to the Hobart Marine Board (HMB) and Consolidated Marine Board (CMB) investigating the logistics of erecting a lighthouse in the Cape Pillar/Tasman Island area. Authorities baulked at the expense of the proposed build, but pressure from masters and shipping companies increased until in May 1903 the CMB passed a motion expressing “the necessity of the work being proceeded with without further delay.”  In January 1904 representatives of the marine board were able, with some difficulty, to land on Tasman Island to determine its suitability as a location for the new light station.

Chance Brothers of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, renowned for supplying lighthouse apparatus worldwide, provided a quote to supply a prefabricated cast iron tower including the lantern and lighting apparatus for £7,480. Hobart firm Henricksen & Knutsen undertook the building of structures including the keepers’ quarters, landing stage and haulage for £10,497/10. The total cost for the lightstation would come to around £22,000. Work commenced in October 1904, with the first phase the building of the haulage line and landing stage. 

Building the lightstation proved a complex undertaking. Supplies were delivered by steamer, which used a punt to ferry them closer to the island where they could be lifted by a steam crane and deposited on the landing stage, nearly 30 metres above sea level. From there a haulage tram took the materials to the top of the island. The building of the landing stage and haulage track required blasting into the dolerite cliffs, and poor weather often delayed the delivery of supplies.

Eventually, on the 2nd of April 1906, the light was officially exhibited for the first time. The event was marked by a visit from marine board officials who partook in a lunch hosted by the new superintendent, George Johnston, and his wife Jessie.  The centrepiece of the table was a large iced cake in the form of the lighthouse. This was followed by an inspection of the new lighthouse before the official party hastily boarded their vessel ahead of a strong southerly gale bearing down on the island that threatened to delay their departure.

The light was operated by a head lightkeeper and two assistant lightkeepers. Their paramount job was to ensure that the light was operational every night. This involved being on watch 15 minutes before sundown and standing four-hour watches until dawn. The lamp worked by using a pump to force kerosene up to a vaporizer, which turned the oil into an aerosol. This burning vapor heated an incandescent mantle to create an intense light. The light was then focused into a beam through the first order lens. Keepers were responsible for cleaning and polishing the apparatus, attending to the delicate silk mantle which was sensitive enough to be disrupted by a moth or blowfly, keep the fuel tank under pressure by pumping up air, and regularly winding the clockwork mechanism that dropped the weights and kept the lens rotating.  They also conducted general maintenance on the lightstation’s structures and equipment and took weather observations.

As the remote location could be isolating for its residents, there was a preference for married light keepers. They arrived bringing bedding and some personal items. Furniture and bulky objects were discouraged due to the difficulties of landing such objects on the Island, and the lightkeepers’ quarters were supplied furnished. 

Children learned by correspondence school, with lessons sent out from Hobart and overseen by their parents. 

Supplies, including food, were brought to the island by Commonwealth Lighthouse Service (CLS) vessels. Prolonged poor weather conditions could delay supplies reaching the island, leading to food stocks running low. The soil was fertile and the families were able to raise crops of vegetables in spite of the harsh conditions.

July 1907 the Harbour Board decreed that keepers have a six weeks’ leave of absence every three years. Because of their lengthy periods of isolation, residents of light stations could be prone to illness when they come back into contact with mainland populations, either visiting the island or going ashore.

Lighthouse families became keen observers of wildlife such as seabirds, whales and seals. 

The inhabitants of the light station brought their pets with them, including dogs, cats and in one instance a kangaroo. They also introduced livestock to the island, with cows, sheep, pigs and a draught horse accompanying the first keepers. Chickens and goats arrived later. These animals supplied fresh meat, eggs and milk. Care of the animals and the butchering and processing of the meat was managed by keepers and their families.

Carrier pigeons played an important role in communications. In 1915 crew from the cargo ship SS Nord made it to Tasman Island after their vessel sank in nearby Munroe Bight after striking an uncharted rock. The lightkeepers dispatched several messages to Hobart via pigeon, and SS Breone was sent to join the search for remaining crew. All were eventually recovered without fatalities. It was not until the 1930s that wireless communication was established with the island. 

The island was home to a single horse, which was employed in pulling the trolley that transported supplies from the top of the haulage in the northeast corner of the island to the lightstation. Landing a horse on the island was a difficult and dangerous job, and once it arrived it would spend the rest of its life there. A grey gelding named Johnnie who was brought to the island in 1917 lived to be over 30 years of age.

When the last keepers left the island on 19 May 1977 the remaining domestic and livestock animals - one cat, one dog and 33 sheep - were airlifted off. The sheep had their legs tied and were put in a sling for the 10 km helicopter flight to Safety Cove near Port Arthur, landing safely in spite of strong winds.  

Tasman Island is a significant location in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race, marking the final major turn on the approach to the Derwent River. Today race watchers receive real-time updates via modern technology, but in the early days of the race it was sometimes the lighthouse keepers on the island who transmitted important updates on who was in the lead as the yachts approached the finish. Most competitors round the southern tip of the Island, but some have braved the passage between Cape Pillar and the Island, a gap of only 500 metres. 

The lighthouse was automated in 1976, and any remaining people, domestic animals and livestock were removed in 1977. Since the 100th anniversary of the Tasman Island Lighthouse in 2006, Wildcare Tasmania’s volunteer group Friends of Tasman Island (FoTI), in partnership with the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service, have worked towards preserving and restoring the natural environment and cultural heritage of the island. Work has included the conservation, restoration and maintenance of the Lighthouse keepers’ quarters and the oil store.

Once thickly covered by native vegetation including silver banksia (Banksia marginata) and drooping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata), harvesting by lighthouse keepers for fuel, the impact of bushfires and grazing by stock had largely deforested the island by the mid-20th century.  Today, natural revegetation, weed eradication and biosecurity measures have seen a return of diverse native plant life, including the rare Cape Pillar sheoak (Allocasuarina crassa). The regenerated habitat and eradication of the feral cat population in 2011 have together led to increased numbers and diversity of birds, importantly, the largely decimated populations of Fairy Prions (Pachyptila tutur) and two species of Shearwater (Short-tailed Shearwater – Ardenna tenuirostris and Sooty Shearwater – Ardenna grisea)

The island is now part of the Tasman National Park, and the lighthouse and associated structures are listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register and Commonwealth Heritage List. Converted to solar power in 1991, the lighthouse continues to operate under the auspices of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), who lease the lighthouse and land occupied by the tower and solar array from the Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service.

Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)

‘Loss of the S. S. Nord’, Daily Commercial News and Shipping List 16 Nov 1915 

Richardson, Garry, Safe Passage: The Lighthouses of Tasmania, Bay of Fires Images and Publishing, 2022

Rich, D.S., “Lighthouse at Cape Pillar”, Letter to the Editor, The Mercury, 13 July 1864

Rowbottom, Karl. Interview by Inger Sheil. 7 and 25 March 2026, Australian National Maritime Museum

‘Tasman Island Light’ The Mercury, 4 Apr 1906 

Wildcare volunteer group, Friends of Tasman Island