Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Hindmarsh on his excellent remarks on Meals on Wheels. I have spoken about the splendour and beauty of my electorate of McMillan on many occasions. The purpose of my recent visit to the southernmost point of my electorate, which also happens to be the southernmost point of the mainland in Australia at Wilsons Promontory, was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Wilsons Prom lighthouse. Along with 30 other people I braved the trek to celebrate the occasion. The lighthouse at Wilsons Promontory is fondly known as the Grand Old Lady of Light. This grand old lady has been guiding ships past the rocky promontory outcrop for the last 150 years and is one of the key navigational aids that keep Bass Strait safe even today.

In a generation in which we have constant and instant access to people and places all over the world, it seems amazing that there are still areas of Australia where physical access is only by foot or helicopter, or by ship when the sea is calm. Usually the only way to get to the lightstation is to walk the 18 kilometres of track across the prom. At the end of that, you are faced with a steep descent down to sea level, only to be confronted with an even steeper walk to the rocky outcrop and the light at the station itself, which is rather confronting.

Although I was fortunate enough to travel part of the way by four-wheel drive, I was still not spared the last part of the journey, which had to be done by foot because of the rugged terrain. To say it was a challenge is a huge understatement. When I stood and looked up at the last haul to the lightstation itself my heart sank, but when we arrived at the top of the vista I was breathless—not from the physical but due to the breathtaking experience to be there—for there before us stood a pristine reminder of our past and of the people who overcame unbelievable obstacles to create a future for us all.

The Wilsons Promontory lighthouse and its historic residence are now both heritage listed and reinforce the isolation that the residents of such stations have endured. The lighthouse was built by convict labour from 1853 through to 1859 from local granite, and the first light was lit 15 minutes before the sun set on 15 July 1859. The light was originally a series of large wicks fuelled by rapeseed oil, and the lighthouse keeper would stay awake all night in order to keep the light going. Today we have a series of parabolic reflectors with an electric globe set up in front of it. The lightstation sits 117 metres above sea level. It is powered today by solar energy and shines for 18 nautical miles. The current resident lighthouse keepers, Ailsa and Chris Richter, hosted the 150th anniversary celebrations. The Richters have a long association with lighthouses along the Victorian and Tasmanian coastlines. Ailsa held the audience enthralled as she told of some of the difficulties of living, working and raising a family in such remote locations. We can only take our hats off to those people who were there on that day—so many extra lighthouse keepers and their families.