Did You Know This Australian Lighthouse Caused 23 Shipwrecks?

Cape St George Lighthouse in Australia was a unique lighthouse which did the opposite of what a usual lighthouse is required for. Instead of guiding and saving ships, it was responsible for the wreck of 23 ships on the South coast of New South Wales. It was constructed in 1860 and was active until 1889.

The tower was destroyed between 1917 and 1922 to avoid confusion in daylight. It was located about 3 kilometres south of the southern entrance to Jervis Bay. The resulting light was not visible from the northern approach to Jervis Bay and was barely visible from the southern side as well. This led to numerous shipwrecks on both coasts.

The lighthouse was built by the English architect Alexander Dawson in 1857. As an assistant surveyor, he was looking for a place in Cape St George where a lighthouse could be built. Alexander Dawson built the lighthouse in the wrong place because he preferred easy construction over accurate navigation. After the inspection by the members of Pilot Boards, it was discovered that Dawson chose the location based on the accessibility of the stones which were required to construct the lighthouse. Due to this, the architect built the lighthouse 4 km north of the intended site.

This ease of construction resulted in inaccurate navigation by the pilots. Apart from this, the board also noticed several flaws in the map made by Dawson and his company. These flaws were such that it was difficult or impossible to even identify the important places shown on the map.

Yet this lighthouse was built exactly where Dawson had proposed. The reason why this happened is still known, as per reports. This lighthouse was neither visible from the north nor the south. Therefore, it was closed after four decades and a new lighthouse was built at another place in 1899.

Even after closure, the lighthouse continued to cause many problems because its golden stone used to shine on moonlit nights. This confused navigation for the pilots. On June 22, 2004, the lighthouse remains were listed on the Commonwealth Heritage list.