The Cape St George Lighthouse,

Jervis Bay

1860 – 1899

Greg Jackson

A lighthouse in the wrong place can be worse than

no lighthouse at all. Although well built and

properly manned by dedicated staff the location

of the Cape St George Lighthouse was chosen in

haste. There was little or no input from those

qualified to position the lighthouse correctly.

There was also no check made that the contract

builders built the lighthouse where it was

intended. This lighthouse remained in service for

39 years but probably caused more ships to be

wrecked than it saved.

In February 2013 archaeology students from Sydney

University together with Dr Brad Duncan from NSW

Heritage visited the lighthouse to assess the

remains.

Jervis Bay is located ninety kilometres south of

Sydney. As shipping increased in the 19th century

Wreck Bay, just south of Jervis Bay became a

magnet for shipwrecks. Merion Moriarty, the

ports master for NSW raised the need for a

lighthouse there in 1853. This light would both

warn ships of the dangers of Wreck Bay and signal

the location of Jervis Bay heads where ships

could anchor, safely from even the worst weather.

In 1856 a decision was made to build a lighthouse

and the Cape St George lighthouse began operating

in 1860. Because of errors in choosing the

lighthouses location it was decided that it would

be only a temporary lighthouse until a

replacement could be built. The wheels of

government turn slowly and it was not until 1899

that the Cape St George light was extinguished

for the last time, replaced by the Point

Perpendicular Lighthouse on the northern side of

Jervis Bay. This was a much more suitable

location for a lighthouse on this part of the

coast. Image 1 shows the location of the Cape St

George Lighthouse, Wreck Bay and Point

Perpendicular.

Image 1: The location of the Cape St GeorgeLighthouse, British Admiralty Nautical Chart Number: 2142, date: 1852

In 1861 the government launched an inquiry into

the erection of the Cape St George Lighthouse.

All officials connected with the choosing of the

location for the lighthouse attempted to shift

the blame. No one came out with much credit and

the inquiries report was damming ‘…errors, very grave

errors, highly censurable – have been committed in the erection of

this lighthouse…’. The deed had been done however and

the lighthouse operated at this location for

another 38 years.

The lighthouse had poor visibility for ships

approaching from both the north and south. Many

of the ships on the list below and many lives may

have been saved had it been properly located in

1860.

A list of shipping wrecked in the area during the

lighthouses operation.

1864 – Myora, A wooden paddle steamer on SteamersBeach1870 – Walter Hood, A clipper ship sailing from London driven ashore in a storm, 12 lives lost1870 – Summer Cloud, a 3 masted wooden barque driven ashore in what is now Summer Cloud Bay1870 – Maid of Riverton, employed in the salvage of the Summer Cloud, lost in Jervis Bay1874 – Rose of Australia, a wooden Brig ran ashore near St Georges

Head1874 – Mary, ran ashore in what is now Mary Cove1876 – Dandenong, a sailing steamer went down in a gale off Jervis Bay,

55 lives lost1878 – Chimborazo, a steamship, ran into Point Perpendicular in a fog1882 – Plutus, a collier ran aground at Currarong1885 – Corangamite, a steel steamer ran aground onSt Georges Head

The lighthouse was situated about 2 km north of

Cape St George. Its design was clearly

influenced by the Francis Greenway designed

Macquarie Lighthouse built in 1818 on the south

head of Port Jackson and rebuilt in an identical

style in 1883.

Image 2 below shows the 1883 Macquarie Lighthouse

(left) and the Cape St George lighthouse (right).

Image 2 Macquarie Lighthouse Cape St George Lighthouse, South head, Port Jackson

Jervis Bay

The Cape St George Lighthouse tower and base were

built of sandstone and stood 18 meters tall. The

base surrounding the tower initially contained

the accommodation for the 3 lighthouse keepers

and their families. This accommodation was

insufficient and a seven room weatherboard

cottage was later built for the head keeper. This

cottage is seen right in image 3. Stables and an

additional storeroom had also been added by this

date.

Image 3: Lighthouse keepers and their families picnicking, Cape St George Lighthouse. Photo S. Elyard 1877

The light was different from others on the south

coast. It alternated red, green and white at half

minute intervals which distinguished it from

neighbouring lights. Like all lights of this

period it was rotated by a clockwork mechanism

which had to be wound regularly. The lantern and

light mechanism from the Cape St George

lighthouse were removed when the lighthouse was

switched off and used in the Crookhaven Head

Lighthouse built in 1904.

At the time of the lighthouses operation the

population of the Jervis Bay area was only about

500. It was very isolated area with poor roads

and a long trip to Nowra, the nearest town. The 3

lighthouse keepers and their families learnt to

be self sufficient in this isolated location. The

barren land surrounding the lighthouse was not

fertile enough to grow vegetables or even pasture

horses. The only animals that thrived around the

lighthouse were goats which were kept in great

numbers for their milk and meat. The cleared

landscape in Image 2 is the results of the goats

grazing. The 3 families at the lighthouse each

had several children. From about 1870 till when

the lighthouse closed the children share a school

with the nearby settlement of New Bristol on the

shores of Jervis Bay. The location of the school

changed 3 times. As the number of children from

New Bristol decreased the school moved closer to

the lighthouse. By 1899 the school was in a

paddock next to the lighthouse. No remains of

this school were located.

Even when no longer operating the lighthouse

caused problems. Although not displaying a light

it was confused with the Point Perpendicular

Lighthouse to the north resulting in several near

tragedies. To prevent this problem the Australian

Navy shelled the lighthouse resulting in the ruin

that we see in Image 4.

Image 4: Ruins of the Cape St George Lighthouse. Photo P. Forbes 2013The lighthouse and associated building shown in

Inage 2 have now become overgrown. When the

lighthouse ceased operation the coastal sc

rub returned covering the location of the head

keeper’s cottage and the stables. Image 5 shows

the same view as Image 3.

Image 5: Ruins of the Cape St George Lighthouse from the west.

Photo G. Jackson 2013

Remains of the weatherboard buildings and the

possessions of the people who lived in them are

still to be found amongst the scrub.

Image 6: Archaeology student Jane Rooke inspecting stone footing from the Head Keeper’s Cottage, Cape St George Lighthouse.

Photo, P. Forbes 2013

One of the best preserved buildings at the site

is the double seated toilet emptying over the

cliff edge. This toilet must have been extremely

cold and draughty in a strong southerly. The

Image 7 shows the toilets today.

Image 7: Cape St George Lighthouse toilets. Photo P. Forbes 2013

The Cape St George Lighthouse is now in the

Booderee National Park. Although its history is

well known no archaeology has been done at this

site. Of particular interest is the lighthouse

keeper’s dwelling and the nearby schoolhouse

which would tell us much about how the lighthouse

keepers and their families lived at this isolated

site.

By an accident of history the Cape St George

Lighthouse and Broderee National Park are located

in the Australian Capital Territory. It is part

of the home of the aboriginal people of Wreck

Bay, the Djuwin people. Today nearly 80 per cent

of Booderee's National Park staff and contractors

are local Indigenous people, working in the park

and helping visitors connect with aboriginal

culture. Our visit to the lighthouse was one of

inspection only. Before any excavations could be

conducted permission from both the ACT government

and the local Aboriginal people would be

necessary.