Cape Willoughby Lightstation Heritage Walk - SA

This hike will take you into the sheltered gully of the early 1853 settlement. It will give you an insight into the early lightkeepers' lives and how their demanding routine and sense of isolation was heightened by the distance between their homes and the lighthouse.
A self guided walking trail brochure is available at the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse Visitor Centre. It gives information about the original lightstation settlement at points of interest along the trail.
Access
This return loop hike begins and ends at the visitor centre.

Completed in 1852, the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse (Sturt Light) was the first in South Australia and a major breakthrough in protecting coastal shipping in these waters. Through the early decades the tower stood alone. The keepers’ cottages were sited about a kilometre away down in the gully to the northwest - a site chosen for its shelter from wild southerly winds and proximity to the bay where supply ships would anchor. In 1927 these original cottages were replaced by the three existing houses, in keeping with the Commonwealth’s practice of having keepers living close to the lighthouse.
By orientating this map to the landscape you will be able to identify Backstairs Passage and locate the position of the four beacons that now guide ships through the passage: South Page Island, Cape Willoughby, Cape St. Albans and Cape Jervis.
Ships travelling between the eastern states and South Australia use Backstairs Passage. You may be able to see how the tide races between the Southern Ocean and the passage. These tides and the prevailing south-westerly winds have often made it difficult for ships to negotiate the narrow passage entrance between Cape Willoughby and The Pages.


http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/kangaroo-island/cape-willoughby