29 min listen
Light Hearted ep 140 – Alex Parry, Cape Otway, Australia
FromLight Hearted
ratings:
Length:
61 minutes
Released:
Oct 10, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Cape Otway Lighthouse -- in southern Victoria, Australia, about 50 miles southwest of Melbourne -- is nicknamed the “Beacon of Hope.”
For thousands of immigrants in the 1800s, Cape Otway was the first sight of land after leaving Europe, Asia, and North America. It’s the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Australian mainland and it’s also considered the most significant.
19th century illustration of Cape Otway
Alex Parry at Cape Otway
Built in 1848, the lighthouse stands on a high cliff at the western entrance to Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania. Frequent shipwrecks in the area with hundreds of lives lost led to the establishment of the lighthouse.
In 1891, the original system of 21 whale oil lamps and parabolic reflectors was replaced by a first-order Fresnel lens manufactured by Chance Brothers in England.
Today, overnight accommodations are available in the head keeper’s cottage. Alex Parry is the operations coordinator for Cape Otway Light Station.
Sarah MacHugh
Sarah MacHugh co-hosts this episode.
For thousands of immigrants in the 1800s, Cape Otway was the first sight of land after leaving Europe, Asia, and North America. It’s the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Australian mainland and it’s also considered the most significant.
19th century illustration of Cape Otway
Alex Parry at Cape Otway
Built in 1848, the lighthouse stands on a high cliff at the western entrance to Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania. Frequent shipwrecks in the area with hundreds of lives lost led to the establishment of the lighthouse.
In 1891, the original system of 21 whale oil lamps and parabolic reflectors was replaced by a first-order Fresnel lens manufactured by Chance Brothers in England.
Today, overnight accommodations are available in the head keeper’s cottage. Alex Parry is the operations coordinator for Cape Otway Light Station.
Sarah MacHugh
Sarah MacHugh co-hosts this episode.
Released:
Oct 10, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Light Hearted – Ep. 3, Dolly Bicknell, Roman Lighthouse at Dover: Dolly Bicknell at Scituate Lighthouse In this episode, host Jeremy D'Entremont is joined by co-host Michelle Jewell Shaw of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses , recent winner of a volunteerism award from the American Lighthouse Foundation. by Light Hearted