Green Cape is a headland or cape on the far south coast of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. It is located at 37° 15' S 150° 03' E, within Ben Boyd National Park

Ben Boyd National Park

Ben Boyd National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney. It is named after the entrepreneur Ben Boyd who had a variety of interests in the far South Coast of New South Wales including whaling and farming. The park itself was established in 1971...

, south of Eden, New South Wales

Eden, New South Wales

Eden is a coastal town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town, south of the state capital Sydney near the border with Victoria, is located between Nullica Bay to the south and Calle Calle Bay, the northern reach of Twofold Bay, and built on undulating land adjacent to a...

. The headland forms the northern boundary of Disaster Bay.

The Green Cape Lighthouse

Green Cape Lighthouse

The Green Cape Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at the tip of Green Cape, a headland forming the northern boundary of Disaster Bay, in southern New South Wales, Australia. It is the southernmost lighthouse in New South Wales and Australia's first lighthouse built in concrete. At it is also the...

, the southernmost lighthouse in New South Wales, was mostly constructed by Albert Aspinall

Albert Aspinall

Albert Wood Aspinall was an Australian stonemason and builder. He was an expert in constructing round towers and buildings.-Early life:...

, who constructed a 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) wooden tramway from the nearest landfall at Bittangabee Bay

Bittangabee Bay

Bittangabee Bay is a tiny picturesque bay on the rugged and remote stretch of coastline south of Eden, New South Wales in New South Wales . The bay is located in Ben Boyd National Park, with a small camping ground and facilities maintained by...

 for the purpose.

On May 31 1886

1886 in Australia

See also:1885 in Australia,other events of 1886,1887 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Premiers:* Premier of New South Wales — John Robertson then Patrick Jenning* Premier of Queensland — Samuel Griffith...

The SS Ly-Ee-Moon en route to Sydney from Melbourne, struck a reef close to the cape at night. 71 souls were lost with the lighthouse keepers only being able to save 15 people under the conditions.