Down a dirt path and through a thicket of shrubs from the Ellen Cove boardwalk, lies a crumbling limestone building on a rocky outcrop, which once housed those that operated the first lighthouse on WA’s south coast.
All that remains of Point King Lighthouse and Cottage these days are the ruins of a four-bedroom home bisected by a central corridor, but it once served a vital role in helping navigate sailors through Albany’s waters.
Built in 1857 by the British Government, the lighthouse was one of two erected in Albany at the time — the other being at Breaksea Island — following the end of the Crimean War.
The dual projects were undertaken in a bid to protect the Commonwealth’s steamship route and encourage the return of mail boat services to the Eastern States.
Designed by Victorian civil engineer Alexander Gordon and made of both limestone and local rock, the lighthouse was built at the cliff edge of Point King at the northern entrance to Princess Royal Harbour.
A cottage for the lighthouse keeper and his family was constructed by local contractor Alex Moir, built alongside the 5m tall wooden lighthouse tower itself and situated about 14m above sea level.
On January 1, 1858 the oil-fired light was switched on for the first time and was visible to ships almost 20km away.
It was only the second lighthouse in the State after the construction of the Rottnest Lighthouse in 1849.
Sgt Joseph Nelson manned the lighthouse with his wife and four children until 1867 when Samuel Mitchell took over the post.
Together with his wife Mary Anne, Mr Mitchell raised eight children while stationed at the lighthouse, which located about 4km from the town centre with no roads, would have likely meant for an isolated existence.
He held the position for 36 years.
John Reddin took the position in 1903 and lived at the cottage with his wife and nine children until 1911 when workers from the Port Pilot Crew began trimming the light each night, eliminating the need for a resident keeper.
Local legend says Mr Reddin never truly left his post at the lighthouse however, with many reporting a ghostly man, dressed in a dark coat and black hat, and often carrying a smoking pipe wandering the headland after dark.
“Some sailors have even claimed to see the ghostly keeper standing watch over the Sound during foggy nights, appearing when visibility is poor and disappearing once danger has passed,” the Albany Historical Society’s ghost stories page reads.
“Whether guardian spirit or local folklore, the story has become part of the lighthouse’s enduring mystery.”
During World War II, an artillery coastal searchlight and machine gun post was installed in the lighthouse.
The lighthouse was later rebuilt with steel at a separate location and the cottage left vacant which resulted in significant deterioration including the loss of its roof, which made the structure extremely vulnerable to the seaside elements.
A conservation plan was prepared in 1995 in order to restore and stabilise the building but no work was carried out until 2000.
Further work to preserve and stabilise the remaining structure was carried out in 2011, leaving the cottage ruins a remnant of lonely maritime history for years to come.
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