Split Point Lighthouse shines during international celebration

The third weekend in August celebrates lighthouses around the world each year, and Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet was one of hundreds that took part.

International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW) was observed globally on August 19-20, including at Split Point Lighthouse, constructed in 1891 and now a highly distinctive tourist attraction.

Eco-Logic Education & Environment Services runs tours at the lighthouse, and manager Regina Gleeson said Spit Point Lighthouse joined in the ILLW celebrations by hanging large maritime signal flags from the lighthouse and commissioning photographer Craig Crosthwaite to take some photos to mark the occasion.

Hundreds of ships have crashed have foundered along the nearby Victorian coastine, but the Split Point Lighthouse’s guiding light has saved many more since it was constructed.

The landmark is still an important working lighthouse for vessels navigating the treacherous waters of Bass Strait, and operates every night by an automated system.

A generation of TV viewers know it best as the setting of popular children’s series Round the Twist.

The Point Lonsdale Lighthouse also took part in ILLW celebrations this year.

ILLW has its origins in Scotland in the early 1990s, when amateur radio operators set up at lighthouses and broadcast to each other as a way to promote their hobby and lighthouses more generally.

Today, the global event stretches over the span of 48 hours, and sees radio groups in lighthouses around the world trying to communicate with as many other lighthouse-based radio operators as they can, with more than 500 taking part across more than 40 countries.