Lighthouse opens its doors for international weekend

LOCALS and visitors will have the opportunity to explore the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse this weekend as part of International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend.

Running across tomorrow (Saturday, August 16) and Sunday, August 17, volunteers from the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum will host tours through the lighthouse while the guides share their wealth of knowledge.

Queenscliff Maritime Museum committee member Andrew Scorgie said as part of opening the lighthouse, they will also educate people on navigation aids through the Rip and getting in through Port Phillip Heads.

“Port Phillip Heads is the busiest port in Australia, we get more ships coming past our lighthouse than any other lighthouse in Australia.

“We do the [full] tour, we go through the rip, the entrance, the shipping, how the lighthouse works and we’ve got a 120 year old lighthouse, 120 year-old infrastructure still being used today and it’s been updated form a flame to electricity and then to LED technology at the top.”

People heading along will also have the opportunity to learn about the 120 shipwrecks beneath the water and the crucial role lighthouses play in keeping people on the water safe.

The weekend in an opportunity for lighthouse enthusiasts, also know as pharologists, to come together and teach people about the import structures, with Mr Scorgie hopes people will get an experience out of the weekend.

“You have to do an experience to talk about it, and the experience, even for the first time of people going up that lighthouse, is when they learn so many things about lighthouses and they get to the top and they’re in awe.

“The best thing about it is you can do a tour of the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse and then you can go to Queenscliff and you can look at the lighthouse in Queenscliff as well.”

Tours will run from 10am until 3pm in Point Lonsdale across the weekend with the Foghorn sounding from 10.30am until 2pm.

People heading along are not permitted to wear slip on shoes, crocs or high heels and children must be taller than 95cm to participate.