|Australia is an island continent with an area of 7,682,300
square kilometres, or around 5.7% of the land surface of the
earth. The coastline, which is 36,735 kilometres or 22,041 miles
long, is home to over 350 'lighthouses' which have been erected
over the past 200 years. This is not a large number of lights
for such a long coastline but then a large proportion of it is
unpopulated and rarely visited by As is the case in most
countries, there are no longer any manned lighthouses in
Australia. The last was Maatsuyker Island in Tasmania and it was
de-manned in December 1995. Most lighthouses now belong to the
various State Parks and Wildlife Services. Some are still
operational with a caretaker who makes weather reports and
maintains the property. Others are open for rental purposes and
others have just been sadly left to decay and be demolished by
vandals. This web site contains a list of major Australian
Coastal Maritime Navigation aids including 'traditional-type'
lighthouses and the newer solar powered au