The Queenscliff Low Light, also known as the Queenscliff White Lighthouse, is a lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 in the township of Queenscliff

Queenscliff, Victoria

Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe...

 in the Borough of Queenscliffe

Borough of Queenscliffe

The Borough of Queenscliffe is a municipality in Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the south coast, south-east of Geelong on the Bellarine Peninsula south of Swan Bay and next to the Port Phillip Heads, the entrance to Port Phillip Bay from Bass Strait.The Borough has an area of...

, Victoria, Australia, at the eastern end of the Bellarine Peninsula

Bellarine Peninsula

The Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...

. It stands inside the entrance to Port Phillip

Port Phillip

Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...

 from Bass Strait

Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...

, on the lower slope of the Queenscliff Peninsula overlooking the ’Rip”

The Rip

"The Rip", also known as "The Heads", is a dangerous stretch of water in Victoria, Australia, connecting Port Phillip and Bass Strait. It is the only entrance for shipping into Port Phillip and hence into Melbourne. Because of large tidal flows through the relatively narrow channel from the bay to...

, a stretch of water considered one of the ten most treacherous navigable passages in the world. It is operated by the Port of Melbourne Corporation

Port of Melbourne Corporation

The Port of Melbourne Corporation is a statutory body established by the Victorian Government. The Corporation commenced operations on 1 July 2003, when it took over the management of the Port of Melbourne from Melbourne Port Corporation...

.

History

The light station was first established in 1854 with a prefabricated wooden lighthouse, which was dismantled in 1863 and moved to Point Lonsdale

Point Lonsdale Lighthouse

Point Lonsdale Lighthouse, also known as the Point Lonsdale Signal Station, is close to the township of Point Lonsdale in the Borough of Queenscliffe, Victoria, Australia...

 when the permanent lighthouse was built. The lamp and its housings were manufactured in England by Chance Brothers

Chance Brothers

Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands , in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology....

. The light was converted to gas in 1890 and to electricity in 1924.

Operation

The main purpose of the lighthouse is to show a white light in range with the Queenscliff High Light as a guide for ships in the main channel entering Port Phillip. It is flanked by the skeletal Hume and Murray Towers, showing red and green lights respectively, that blink in unison with the lighthouse to provide a unique entrance pattern defining the correct course through the Rip.