Address & Contact Edit
1740 Poltalloch Rd
Poltalloch SA 5259
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The
Point Malcolm Lighthouse is Australia's only inland
lighthouse, and may be the only inland
lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere.
The
Point Malcolm Lighthouse was built in 1878 on the eastern side of the narrows between
Lake Alexandria and
Lake Albert, opposite
Narrung, a small Aboriginal community.
The importance of the
Murray River trade and the expected increase in the exporting of riverine-delivered produce via Port Victor (now Victor Harbour) led to the decision to build the
lighthouse at
Point Malcolm. The
lighthouse was built to assist ships that were passing through
Lake Alexandria on their way to
Lake Albert or the ports on the
Murray River.
The
lighthouse was built by Richard Trenouth, a
well-known builder from
Strathalbyn, at a cost of £1,043 for both the tower and keeper's cottage. The light was first exhibited on 1 February 1878.
The
lighthouse was turned off in September 1931, due a decline in river traffic. The switching off was stated in Notice to Mariners No. 3 of 1931, issued by the South Australian Harbours Board.
The keepers' cottage and adjacent buildings are boarded up and derelict, but basically intact. The keepers were self-sufficient and sold extra produce to locals. They stored it in a small
cave near the riverbank, which was cool and damp, while they waited for a boat to transport it to town for sale. A hole in the ground near the
lighthouse dropped immediately to the
cave below.
An automatic "light on a pole" has been installed next to the old tower, to guide recreational and commercial traffic using the river and
lake system.