Macquarie Lighthouse

The headland at Vaucluse has carried a light since 1818, when a sandstone tower designed by the convict architect Francis Greenway was lit above the harbour entrance. That tower was built with poor stone and had to be banded with iron; the present lighthouse, finished in 1883, was set beside it and deliberately copied its lines, so what you see is a Victorian building wearing a Georgian face. It is white, square-shouldered and unfussy, standing on open lawn above the South Head cliffs. Most of the year you can only walk around it, which is enough, because the point of coming is the position: ocean on one side, the harbour mouth on the other, and ships still threading the gap.

History

South Head was a lookout over the harbour entrance from 1788, and in 1790 Governor Arthur Phillip had seamen from the Sirius raise a flagstaff here to signal arriving ships to Sydney Cove, followed that year by a stone column to guide ships; there has been a navigational aid here since 1791 and a lighthouse since 1818, the first in Australia. The present lighthouse was designed by James Barnet and built from 1881 to 1883, and a survey of 2006 found shell from an Aboriginal midden in the old Greenway wall (Wikipedia, Macquarie Lighthouse).

What's there

• The 1883 tower - a close copy of Greenway's original, kept in working order.
• The keepers' cottages - the matching sandstone quarters standing beside the tower.
• The clifftop path - the Federation Cliff Walk running north and south along the sea edge.
• The harbour entrance - North and South Head framing the gap that shipping still uses.

When to go

The headland is exposed and the wind off the ocean can be strong in any season, so pick a settled day. Late afternoon light suits the white tower and the cliffs behind it. Whales pass this coast between roughly May and November. The tower itself opens only on occasional advertised days, so check first if going inside matters to you.

What to expect

Unless you time an open day, you cannot go in, and the visit amounts to a look at a building and a view. Street parking nearby fills quickly at weekends. There is no cafe or shelter on the site, and the wind makes it uncomfortable in poor weather. Cliff edges along the adjoining path are unfenced in places, which matters with children.

Nearby

Watsons Bay, Hornby Lighthouse at South Head and the Federation Cliff Walk.

Key facts