Lighthouses
Lighthouses have played a vital role on Yorke Peninsula providing safe navigation around the rugged coastline for ships and boats that travel the area.
The 'Bottom-End' of the Yorke Peninsula has some of the most treacherous coastline in Australia; this has resulted in many shipwrecks some of which can still be seen today.
Troubridge Island
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The second lighthouse to be built in South Australia, Troubridge Island lighthouse was completed in 1855 and was the first Australian lighthouse to be built of cast iron. After the ship 'Marion' was wrecked on what is now known as Marion Reef, the Government investigated, building a lighthouse on Troubridge Island.
The lighthouse was prepared in England and shipped in pieces to Australia and was manned from 1856 to 1981. The island became a conservation park in 1982 when purchased for $42,000 by the State Government.
Troubridge Hill
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Special wedge shaped clay bricks were custom made to build this unusual lighthouse. It is designed to be resistant to high winds and earthquakes, as in the early 1900's the area experienced numerous earthquakes.
Measuring 32 metres high, Troubridge Hill Lighthouse has a light range of 22 nautical miles and operates off mains electricity with a backup generator.
Corny Point
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Completed in 1882 and made of limestone, quarried from a nearby farm. De-manned in 1920, the light continued to shine until 11th December 1942, when a Japanese invasion was feared and it was turned off for several weeks. It was converted to electricity in 1978.
Entries from the light keeper's logs describe how it survived earthquakes and other natural phenomenon such as seeing meteors flying past. Today the lighthouse reserve is open to the public.
Althorpe Island
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Costing a total of £11,000 to build, Althorpe Island's Lighthouse was made out of a mixture of limestone and hard sandstone quarried from the Island. Powered by twin diesel generator sets and a 120v 1000w Tungsten Halogen lamp, it was first lit on February 14th, 1879 and continued to shine for 112 years.
Standing 15 metres tall and 91 metres above sea level, the light reached 24 nautical miles into Investigator Strait, and displayed a 0.1 second flash every 7 seconds. The light was converted to operate on automatic solar power in 1991 and declared a conservation park in 1996.
Althorpe Island is looked after by the Friends of Althorpe Island who work alongside the staff from Innes National Park to conserve the lighthouse, the keeper's cottages, and local plant life.
West Cape Lighthouse
Constructed of stainless steel and built in 1980, West Cape is a fully automated lighthouse, standing 67 metres above sea level with a range of 22 nautical miles. Accessed by a walking trail from within Innes National Park, with views across Pondalowie Bay.
Cape Spencer
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Easily accessed through Innes National Park, a short walk takes you to the tower itself with a magnificent view overlooking Althorpe Island and on a clear day all the way across to Kangaroo Island.
An automatic beacon was commissioned in 1950, with a major upgrade taking place in 1970 to the cement structure you can see today. Standing 78 metres above sea level and powered by a 120v 1000w Tungsten Halogen Lamp, Cape Spencer Lighthouse has a light range of 23 nautical miles.