Collective sigh as name search ends

QUEENSCLIFF’S lighthouses will be mutually known as a “relief”, following a campaign from Queenscliff Maritime Museum (QMM) to find a collective noun for the local landmarks.

A widely shared social media campaign and coverage from local and statewide media outlets helped attract around 600 suggestions to name the lighthouses.

A judging panel announced the winner earlier this month on May 12, to mark the 159-year anniversary of the borough’s formation.

Borough mayor Ross Ebbels, members of the Queenscliffe Literary Festival assisted QMM to sift through the multitude of entries, which included input from local residents and schools, and from across Australia.

The panel selected relief from a shortlist of 10 entries that also included rise, lume, connection, welcome, shine, chandelier, passage, vigil, and haven.

QMM committee member Andrew Scorgie said the museum was thrilled with the winning entry and how its contest illuminated local creativity and appreciation of history.

“We had about 600 suggestions. The word relief came up several times,” Mr Scorgie said.

“If you go through all the maritime pages, they look at lighthouses differently to what people on land do.

“Someone sailing in from the Bass Strait into Port Phillip, we wanted a word that described the feeling of seeing the lighthouses.

“When you’re battling for many days in the swell or bad sees, we thought it would be a relief to see the lighthouses in the borough of Queenscliffe.”

QMM will now refer to the beacons as a relief of lighthouses in all its future communications and history projects.