VICTORIAN LIGHTHOUSES

CAPE NELSON LIGHTHOUSE

Tucked away on Victoria’s south-west coast, the circa 1884 Cape Nelson Lighthouse sits high on a crag›y promontory, where the freshest air imaginable blasts across towering cliffs.

Situated 21km south-west of Portland, the lighthouse was constructed from bluestone overlooking a treacherous stretch of coastline at the far edge of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast — more than 700 cargo and passenger ships have come to grief along the Shipwreck Coast. Rising 50m above the ocean, the tower’s beam reaches miles out into the Southern Ocean, announcing to shipping from the west that Bass Strait is ahead.

In late 1884, when the ‘Russian Scare’ was at its height, the lighthouse was connected to Portland by telephone, and the following year a 2m telescope was installed to “scrutinise passing ships of hostile intent.”

Cape Nelson’s telescope and telephone also played a strategic role during WWI, although no German raids were sighted. During WWII a radar station was established to provide early warning of Japanese warships.

Today you can take a guided lighthouse tour, hike a 3km clifftop walk, and set off on parts of the Great