Fremantle South Mole - Fremantle, Western Australia
Lighthouse category: harbour Position: 32°3.4'S : 115°43.9'E Status: active Date: 1903 Designer: C Y O'Connor Tower height: 30 feet Construction: round, prefabricated, cast iron tower with lantern and gallery Colour scheme: tower green with white detailng, lantern and gallery rail white Focal plane height: 49 feet Characteristics: green light occulting every 2 seconds Foghorn: none Google map view: google map link |
This is the harbour light on the knuckle of the south breakwater at the entrance to Fremantle Harbour that lies at the seaward end of the Swan River in Western Australia. If you have the feeling that this light looks familiar it could be because you have already looked at the photograph of the Heugh Lighthouse in Hartlepool. They appear to be identical in all but height (the Heugh tower being some 9 feet taller). Although most sources I have seen insist that the tower was designed in Australia and prefabricated in England I find it very hard to believe that the design was not the work of the same person who designed the Heugh Lighthouse. In particular, the lantern is identical and the method of construction, consisting of cast-iron sections arranged with the joints in each course offset against those in the course below, is also precisely the same. This photograph was taken in 1999 and it seems that, in 2003, the lighthouse was given a fresh coat of paint to mark its centenary. I cannot account for my utter lack of motivation whilst in Western Australia, but I totally failed to obtain a photograph of the very similar lighthouse on the North Mole here in Fremantle. I know I was pushed for time but that doesn't excuse the oversight - however, in my defence M'lud, I can only say that I was pushed for time and had to make a very quick walk to the end of the pier and it may be that I only had a wide angle lens with me which could explain why a photograph of the North Mole was out of the question.