Lighthouses of Australia - A Visitors Guide

This is a new book on Australian Lighthouses by John Ibbotson, the author of Lighthouses of Australia Images from the End of an Era. The purpose of the Visitors Guide is to provide information on how to visit, or at least to see, 150 lighthouses around Australia’s spectacular coastline.

It is a take-it-with-you book that includes a photograph and a description of each lighthouse as well as its location, how to reach them, what you will be able to do once you arrive, what it will cost and whether there is accommodation available in the keepers’ cottages.

In addition, there is a list of maritime museums that have lighthouse artefacts on display as well as random pieces of information and definitions related to lighthouses scattered throughout the book. All this information will help nurture an interest in seeing these icons-by-the-sea. The more that visit them now, the greater the chance that the lights will still be there for future generations to enjoy.

Lightstations with keepers’ cottages are being converted into B&Bs or self contained accommodation and the old stables and workshops have become cafes or interpretive centres. Some of the old towers with their magnificent Fresnel lenses now have regular conducted tours. Even automated towers that were never manned, but which have their own charm and historical significance, are being made tourist friendly with pathways, lookouts and interpretive displays.

Charter operators are also starting to provide land, sea and air transportation to some of the more remote lights that were previously inaccessible, and these services will continue to develop and expand. All this is being done without compromising the lighthouses’ primary function as an aid to navigation.

When ordering a copy, mention your visit to Australia's Maritime World Website and you will receive a FREE COPY of the Lighthouses of Australia wall map. Contact the author by email or phone 03 9808 5474. If you want to write to John Ibbotson, his address is 4/19 Elm St., Surrey Hills, VIC 3127, Australia.

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Lighthouses of Australia