Williamstown Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
The Williamstown Lighthouse is situated at Gellibrand Point, in the Melbourne
suburb of Williamstown
. It was erected in 1852, and replaced earlier navigational aids established from the time of the first settlement in 1835. Built of local basalt
, the unusual square plan form is the second oldest in Victoria
after the Cape Otway
lighthouse. Its height is 17 metres built on an elevation of 22 metres.
The first lighthouse was built in 1839-40. This timber structure was replaced with a square bluestone lighthouse tower, designed by Henry Ginn. The bluestone section has battered lower stories featuring rusticated masonry with smooth string courses and originally had a castellated parapet with mast and spherical, copper plate timeball above. The masonry was quarried and worked by prisoner labour. Four lamps were shining in May 1849; a larger lamp was installed in August 1849.
A timeball apparatus mounted on top of the bluestone tower operated regularly until 1926. Its original use was as a signalling device to ships. From 1858 until 1926 the large ball on the top was dropped each afternoon at one o'clock to allow shipmasters moored offshore to correct their chronometers. The Timeball Tower/Lighthouse had an additional time signal at eight o'clock each night by means of eclipsing the lantern of the lighthouse.
The timeball ceased to operate in August 1926 and the apparatus was dismantled. In 1932, the Timeball Tower was adapted for use as a lighthouse by increasing the height to 98 feet by the addition of a circular brick tower 30 feet in height. A large copper ball encircled the mast and rested in a catcher cup of iron when not in use. The lighthouse operated in this fashion until 1987. In 1989, the circular brick tower was removed by the Williamstown Historical Society so that the square tower could be restored and the timeball apparatus replaced.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
suburb of Williamstown
Williamstown, Victoria
Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Williamstown had a population of 12,733....
. It was erected in 1852, and replaced earlier navigational aids established from the time of the first settlement in 1835. Built of local basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
, the unusual square plan form is the second oldest in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
after the Cape Otway
Cape Otway
Cape Otway is a cape in south Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Otway National Park.-History:...
lighthouse. Its height is 17 metres built on an elevation of 22 metres.
The first lighthouse was built in 1839-40. This timber structure was replaced with a square bluestone lighthouse tower, designed by Henry Ginn. The bluestone section has battered lower stories featuring rusticated masonry with smooth string courses and originally had a castellated parapet with mast and spherical, copper plate timeball above. The masonry was quarried and worked by prisoner labour. Four lamps were shining in May 1849; a larger lamp was installed in August 1849.
A timeball apparatus mounted on top of the bluestone tower operated regularly until 1926. Its original use was as a signalling device to ships. From 1858 until 1926 the large ball on the top was dropped each afternoon at one o'clock to allow shipmasters moored offshore to correct their chronometers. The Timeball Tower/Lighthouse had an additional time signal at eight o'clock each night by means of eclipsing the lantern of the lighthouse.
The timeball ceased to operate in August 1926 and the apparatus was dismantled. In 1932, the Timeball Tower was adapted for use as a lighthouse by increasing the height to 98 feet by the addition of a circular brick tower 30 feet in height. A large copper ball encircled the mast and rested in a catcher cup of iron when not in use. The lighthouse operated in this fashion until 1987. In 1989, the circular brick tower was removed by the Williamstown Historical Society so that the square tower could be restored and the timeball apparatus replaced.