Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01286:front:0:p11
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in turn agreed that "a Light on Cape Howe would also be most desirable".[13]
No further action was taken until 1845 when the Select Committee of the Legislative Council of New South Wales reiterated these statements, and in 1846 Gabo Island was surveyed and officially recommended by Charles J Tyers, Commissioner of Crown Lands in District Gipps Land. Tyers detailed that the firm sandy soil found at the island's highest point at the centre of the landmass was ideal for the construction of a lighthouse.[14]
Tenders were called in June 1846 and a Mr John Morris was accepted as contractor. Excavations commenced on the island where it was assumed a foundation would be located approximately 2.5 metres below the surface. However, 12 months later, workers had excavated to a depth of 20 meters and no solid foundation had been found. With costs now expected to exceed the funds available, debates ensued on whether it was better to choose a different site. Work on the Island eventually came to a standstill as additional arguments sprouted over government finances and which colony Gabo Island would belong to following the separation of New South Wales and Victoria in 1850.[15]
While these arguments ensued, tragedy struck. Monument City, the first steamer to cross the Pacific, was returning from Melbourne on 15 May 1853 when it ran aground on Tullaberga Island a mere five kilometres west of Gabo Island. 33 lives were lost and it was agreed across the board that such an incident would not have occurred had a light been established. In the days following the tragedy, it was declared Gabo Island lay within the colony of Victoria and that a temporary lighthouse was to be built 'as soon as possible' with costs split between both colonies.[16]
Figure 12. Plan and section of a lantern with lamps and reflectors for a fixed light for Cape Howe, Bass Straits (Gabo Island Lighthouse: Working Plan), 1846. NAA: A9568, 6/4/2 (© Commonwealth of Australia, National Archives of Australia)
By September 1853, a prefabricated wooden tower and a Wilkins lantern ordered some time ago and left in storage, were shipped to Gabo Island and erected at the original site excavated. On 28 November 1853, the tower was lit for the first time. The Cornwall Chronicle described the tower as:
    a skeleton timber erection, painted White; the roof and framing of the Lantern painted Red: and the Ventilating Ball painted Yellow. It stands nearly at the centre of the Island, about three-quarters of a mile from its southern point, upon a sand-hill 157ft 6in. above the sea. The centre of the Light is 21 ft 6in. above the sand…
    The Light is a fixed White Light of the