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Published: March 27th 2013
The tragic Archway
Just a small portion of the forest eaten to death by the koalas.Monday 25th.
The morning was bright, even some short lived blue sky, but we were determined to see the lighthouse before making ready to leave Bimbi Park to travel west tomorrow.
The first thing that struck us as we crossed the first cattlestop on the road to the lighthouse was a small forest of dead trees. We enquired of a local about the destruction, and the response was koalas. Some years back 80 were released and they grew into a strong and expanding population. About 9000 now, and eating themselves to death. The damage over the last three or four years will take years to recover. Mean time, the population is spreading out, and maybe not out breeding the food supply. Local farmers are protecting trees and trying to limit the population per tree. At the peak, they counted 10 per tree. Probably 1 per tree would be the maximum for quality survival. These cuddly critters are fussy about their food source, and only two of the eucalypt species in the area are to their taste. So, sometimes the ‘Green’ ideals run into as much difficulty as over zealous pastoral development. In both cases, it takes many years to
Signal Station
Built a little later than the lighthouse, this was ship to shore (flag) and telegraph to Port Philip or Sydney advising of a ships arrival. recover the situation. So much for the sad bit!
The road into the lighthouse, or more correctly, light station, has some eucalypts still in good shape and koalas in them. Tourists stop anywhere, mostly pulling the car off the road, shooting these Australian iconic animals with their cameras.
The Lighthouse at Cape Otway is not visible from the road, so there is a fee to view the lighthouse and talk to the guides who tell much of the history of the station.
In the late 1700s, ships with convicts or military personnel, sailed down the coast of Africa, and then across to Sydney (Colonial Capital) going around the bottom of Tasmania, or Van Diemen’s Land as it was known. There had been talk about placing lighthouses in strategic places around the coast, but little action. Some of the ships will have sailed 10,000 miles out of sight of land before arriving off Tasmania or King Island.
Subsequent survey was done, and a safe passage was mapped between King Island and north east Tasmania, saving 2 weeks sailing time. The military instruction was to sail close to Cape Otway, and stay away from the tip of King
Island, and only sail in day light hours. Tragedy followed when a ship load of poor migrants who had trade skills drowned (20 odd survivors out of 260) when their ship was wrecked on the jagged western coast of King Island. The issue was raised in Parliament in Sydney, and after a passionate speech, approval was given to build the lighthouse at Cape Otway.
The reason for the decision was unique , the light was erected not to warn of dangerous reefs, but rather as a heading point to ‘Thread The Needle’ so to speak after months at sea. There is a 50 mile wide entry into the safe waters, and provided ships stayed close to Cape Otway, they could safely transit the southern Victorian coast. If they sailed close to King Island where severe tidal flows and prevailing winds drove the ships south, tragedy struck.
From approval to turning the light on at Cape Otway was under a year. Rock was hewn, green sand stone, and dragged to the cape on horse drawn drays. The upshot was that no more ships came to grief in this vicinity. Talk to the guides about how the tower was constructed.
You will find that Lego is not a new concept.
The other historically important thing about Cape Otway was the development of under water telegraph transmission. The French had a system transmitting Morse code 22 miles under water. 50 Miles had never been attempted. They gave it a shot, and it worked. After cheers and jubilation, an 18 months of successful but a little unreliable service, the system failed when jagged rocks at King Island severed the cable. However, the general success of this cable became a key driver in developing the world wide web, not internet, but telegraphy. In the mid 1880s, a message could be sent from London to Sydney in 28 minutes. This was a big upgrade from 7 to 9 months with sea mail. Is the tour worth the fee? Yes, if you care to talk to the very informative guides.
Is the coastal view worth the climb up the light house? Yes. The stairs are spiral and easy until the final stage which is more akin to a ships ladder, but spiral. Marg was very brave today making right to the top. A medical condition makes this type of climb difficult due to
Morse Code
A machine dah-dit-dits a message which I didn't understand, but I am sure more than one of my readers would have relished the chance to listen in. loss of balance. There is an attendant at the top who guided her as she reversed her way back down the ladder. So if you are reading this blog and are concerned about such a climb, help is at hand. The view is worth every bit of effort put in to climb.
There was a giant kestrel riding the updraft just to the west of the lighthouse. What a sight. I tried a photo, not as sharp as I would like as the bird was on the move, but it is in the blog for the record.
Girls Night Off Tonight there is a school group in the park, and the manager is cooking wood fired pizza for them. We added ours to the order. These pizzas are talked about all around the world, and most enjoyable. You get to choose your toppings and there are plenty to select from.
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non-member comment
Cracker read and pix
Enjoyed it all Us stay at homers