Lighthouse No 13 Haunted by a ghost - Cape Northumberland, Port MacDonnell SA

OK! a BIG "NO ENTRY AUTHORISED PERSONNEL ONLY" sign met us at the base of the driveway of the Cape Northumberland Lighthouse.  Dan, who once was a rebellious young man gave me that look of 'no you don't' and I had that look of 'yes we will' so up the driveway we went, past the gate to the cottages that sat below this red and white lighthouse begging to be photographed.

After a few attempts to stir someone from the first cottage I was prepared to just sneek up to the lighthouse and take my infamous shot of Dan peering into the camera lens as I lay in the doorway of the lighthouse.  But at that precise moment around the corner came a true Aussie icon who for the purpose of this story I will call 'Bob'.  Bob had the standard beer gut, a pair of stubbies and a holdne singlet on.  He would have looked at home with a stubby in his hand.

Bob's dad had bought this land 20 years ago, over 20 acres and which the Lighthouse was on.  As a conseqence of this the lighthouse was landlocked and registered under the National Trust.  He owned all the land except for the piece of soild beneath the lighthouse itself.  As such the government had clearly stated that unauthorised persons were not allowed on the commonwealth land.

He was a real character and had discussions with Mike Rann and the then treasurer Micheal Atkinson about his rights to bury his dad on the land.  As 'Bob' said, 'dad had no idea when he bought the and he was buying his own personal graveyard'  He invited Rann to his Dad's funeral of which he refused and under the law of our land he buried his Dad on the property he had bought.

He yarned for a while about the local area and changes he had seen and then he turned a blind eye whilst we cambered up to the Cape Northumberland lighthouse to meet our 13th house on our quest.

The lighthouse is supposed to be haunted by a woman in 1950s clothing and this has been witnessed both by more than one individuals at a time as described in the following newspaper article..

"The second incident (the first was at another lightstation) was a more communal experience. The man living next door to Mr Jordan at Cape Northumberland saw the saw the ghost in his house on the same night about a year ago.

'I was just lying in bed when this woman appeared at the end of the bed. She was looking at my wife and smiling. Oh, I smiled back at her and all that', says Mr Jordan. 'The clothes she was wearing were a bit out of date, but not really old-fashioned. She was playing with ends of a scarf she had on her head. I've no idea who she was either. All of a sudden she just vanished, like the one at Jaffa, right in front of me. 'I didn't tell anyone about it, but the next morning the chap from next door came up and told me he had seen exactly the same thing, which was strange'!" ('Keeper of the Night Light', The Advertiser, 8 February 1978)

 

Port MacDonnell, SA - Lighthouse 12 Sep 2012

Hitching up Ethel, our latest Jayco Expanda we left Adelaide and drove straight to Port MacDonnell where our first lighthouse was to be found.  Port MacDonnell is 394 kilometres from Adelaide and is 27 klms south of Mt Gambier.   We had decided to take the next 9 days meandering home learning about 8 SA lighthouses. 

What we noticed first of all was how beautiful the shore line from Port MacDonnell was.  Similar to the Great Ocean Road with the harshness of the ocean, the wind and rocks jutting out making this part of the coast very unforgiving.

It was obvious that any ship without navigation and travelling at night would be subject to this very treacherous section of SA coast.  There are two lighthouses in Port MacDonnell that we were to visit. 

Firstly we walked down to the Point and saw the foundations of the original MacDonnell lighthouse that was built in 1858.  It was very evident that the wind and ocean had eroded much of the cliffs away and back then the light only survived 23 years due to the danger of its collapse from the cliff on which it stood.  It was during this time that Ben Germein was appointed Lighthouse keeper.  So key points about this Lighthouse and it's keeper.

• Ben Germein was allowed to chose and name a Port in the area.  He chose Port MacDonnell and named it after the Governor of that time.
• Port MacDonnell was the largest Southeast Port and serviced Mount Gambier
• Ben lost three fingers when a brig 'John Omerod' capsized
• Ben was the driving force in saving the 25 people who survived the Admella wreck (but that is another story I will address later)
• Ben became melancholy and disorientated in his later years and spent many days disappearing in his boat
• In July 1893 he left his home and disappeared.  His decomposed body was found on the 28 August the same year.

This is all that is left of the original lighthouse.  The lighthouse and Lighthouse keepers cottage consisting of three rooms were removed and a new lighthouse located on the hill that was call The Cape Northumberland Lighthouse......so off we went to Lighthouse no 2.

Light House No 11 - Sep 2011 Cape Donington Port Lincoln

After spending an amazing time at Nyroca Scout Camp we moved on to Port Lincoln to firstly meet our Host Malcom Schluter for coffee and then onto the Lincoln National Park to photograph our 11th lighthouse.

The National Parks in SA are really well set up.  We had spent the day at Coffin Bay National Park just 2 days prior.  Here we experienced our first bogged in sand adventure.  Well it was fun until we had tried the digging down and adding bracken under the wheels, then onto sticks, then onto logs, all to no avail.

Eventually a man in a Toyota came around the bend, nearly collected us but realising we were bogged and in a Hyundai started to show how how real men are prepared.  % minutes later and we were free.  We spent the rest of the day nursing our 4wd ego and Dan fished while I lay in the sun and relax

Well back to Port Lincoln.  The Cape Donington Lighthouse is a 32 metres high hexagonal grey concrete tower built in 1905. The cape was named after Donington, Lincolnshire, England, the birthplace of Matthew Flinders.  If I was scoring on this one I gave it a 3/10.
Being a newer lighthouse it lacked the mystery and history of days gone by and tragedy that so often is linked to these towers.  However the area is steeped in history.

Matthew Flinders was the first European to arrive in the region, whilst circumnavigating the Australian continent on HMS Investigator in 1802. He climbed Stamford Hill where he surveyed the Lower Eyre Peninsula. Eight crew members of the Investigator, including two officers, were the first Europeans to drown in the dangerous waters at the southern end of Jusseau Peninsula, whilst in search of fresh water. Numerous names in the area are associated with this event, including Cape Catastrophe, numerous islands named after the deceased and Memory Cove, where a tablet was erected by Flinders in their memory.

So once again the tragic stories associated with these waters forge the building of these formidable towers.



See the lighthouse and view from the link below.
http://www.360cities.net/image/cape-donington-lighthouse-lincoln-np-south-australia#-160.39,18.83,70.0  

Lighthouse No 10 - Whyalla SA - Point Lowly

This was a day trip from Whyalla to visit our 11th Lighthouse. The Point Lowly Lighthouse stands out on a point jutting into the northern end of the Spencer Gulf.

It sits just below an isolated valley with the most amazing beach and about 5 beach houses.  Australia has some really beautiful beaches that have not been destroyed by commercialisation.  Remote and yet close to towns and sleepy little hamlets where you can rent a shack and get away from city living.  Fitzgerald Bay is one of those places. Accessed via a 20 klm dirt road when you arrive, you just want to be part of a place where time stands still. 

The lighthouse and two lighthouse keepers' cottages are the oldest buildings in the Whyalla area. Completed in 1883, the lighthouse eased the way for maritime traffic around Point Lowly. The original 15 metres tall tower was extended by eight metres in 1909. Manned for 90 years, the Point Lowly beacon became automated and was eventually delisted from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority register. Since 1995, the lighthouse has been owned by the City of Whyalla, while the cottages are available for holiday accommodation through the Whyalla Uniting Church.

So many lighthouses re linked to tragedy. This lighthouse is not isolated from sorrow and death.  As at Corny Point, men who gave up a normal job to make safe the passage for ships, saw tragedy in their own family.

On Tuesday 4th October, 1989 this article was printed in the local newspaper The Barrier Miner the following article was written....With reference to the drowning case at Point Lowly Lighthouse, it appears that Thomas Alfred Wells, aged 27, a son of the headkeeper, and a lad named Charles Duthie were out in a boat in the Rip. The boat capsized and both occupants were drowned The accident was witnessed by the fathers of both the young men. Duthie, senior, put out in a dingy to try to save them, but was met by Wells' floating corpse. Young Duthie was never seen after the boat capsized. A strong current was running, and as numerous sharks are known to be in the locality it is feared that the body will not be found. Wells was a brother of Mr. R. H. Wells fitter at the Proprietary works at Port Pirie, and Duthie a son of the second keeper of the Point Lowly Lighthouse

 

 



This is my standard shot I hope to take of most lighthouses.  Dan in the corner with his cheeky face.  I love this man.

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Port Lincoln SA - A new experience...27 Sept 2011

Moving on from Whyalla I googled unusual accomodation for caravans Port Lincoln.  I love google while we are travelling.  Nothing is ever far away.  The search came up with 4 hits.  Two were farms with spots for 1-2 caravans, one was a National Park and the last was Nyroca Scout Camp where they had 2 spots for caravans and was in close proximity to Coffin Bay Conservation Park. 

A quick call to Nyroca and spoke to the caretaker Malcolm Schluter who advised he was closed as he was heading to Adelaide for personal reasons.   After a brief discussion I hung up from the call and advised Danny we were heading for Nyroca.  The Nyroca Scout Camp is a 21 hectare natural bush setting situated adjacent the Flinders Highway, in the shadow of the Marble Ranges, 56 kms west of Port Lincoln. 

What shocked Dan was the fact I advised him we were caretakers for the next 5 days.  We would arrive to be greeted by Daisy the border collie who would eat us allive with love and kisses and we should make ourselves at home, feed the 50 + animals, collect the eggs, assist with the incubation of the chick eggs and enjoy the environment.

Who lets a total stranger do this after a 5 minute phone call?  Malcolm Schluter does! Ex West Coast Police Chief Inspector has been looking after Nyroca for a number of years.  He was leaving Nyroca the same time we were leaving Whyalla so our paths would not cross.  He would leave the place open and advise his good friend and neighbour who we will call 'Hoss' for now of our arrival.

So our visit to Lighthouse no 11 was going to be an adventure - we could both feel it....

Long time gone....

Wow, it was Sept 2011 that I last blogged in here....boy how time flies.  I have a bit of catching up to do which I will over the next 9 days.  We are on another roadie but let's do a catch up of what has been happening in the lives of Dan and Man.

Firstly I went through a pretty ugly workcover claim of which ended late in 2011.  From that I was detached from my employer of 20 + years.  After what seemed a lifetime of having one career direction, opportunities arose that I had not anticipated.

Firstly I was provided with opportunities of employment that I had not considered before.  I worked for an amazing organisation MIFSA reviewing and developing new policies and procedures.  MIFSA provide a safe and encouraging place for people suffering from any form of mental illness.  The day was filled with many visitors to the organisation who would come to learn to ccok, chill, play music or use the library.  Thursdays were music day and the whole office would be filled with the sounds of people strumming out music and singing, mainly songs from the 70's and 80's.  I loved it. What an inspirational place to work.

Whilst working there I was offered a position as a Practice Manager for a brand spanking new Dental surgery that was about to open 1 minute from where I live.  To top that, one of the owners is someone is who so special to me.  I jumped at the opportunity and Oct 2011 starting working at Beachside Dental Studio in Port Noarlunga. 

Now what does that have to do with caravaning and my lighthouse quest?  Some big changes in my life created opportunity for us to make some real differences in our lives.  We sold our home of 14 years that consisted of a very large garden and two storey home of many rooms to a 3 room apartment on the esplanade and upgraded Eddy the Hawk (our first camper trailer) to Ethel the Expanda.  We simplified our life completely....

 

From this beautiful home to espy Apartment lifestyle - what a change but one we are loving.

 

So back to our lighthouse quest.