Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01287:reg:2023:p12
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01287
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2023 (pt 12/17)
Character Range: 31411–34168

very few, if any, European settlers travelled to Tasman Island prior to the discussions of a lighthouse in the 1880s.
  3.5 Planning a lighthouse
Why Tasman Island?

A meeting of the Consolidated Marine Board in August 1885 discussed the possibility of a lighthouse in the vicinity of Cape Pillar. For some time the masters of the Union Steam Company's vessels had advocated for the erection of a light as the narrow passage of water beside the cape oversaw frequent traffic[13].

The necessity of such a light either on Cape Pillar or Tasman's Island has been felt absolutely essential for many years by seafaring people, and those commercially engaged in the mercantile marine; but it was not until the Russian war scare of last year that any practical proposals emanated from the Government in respect to its erection[14].

After discounting the cape itself and nearby Hippolyte Rocks, a site inspection was made on Tasman Island but the cost of construction was considered excessive. It was also noted that the expense of maintaining a lighthouse on the island would be double that of other locations[15]. The difficulty of establishing telegraphic communication to Tasman Island was also seen as an obstacle.

However by 1886, despite the disadvantages identified, the Consolidated Marine Board of Tasmania made the suggestion that plans and specifications should be prepared for the Tasman Island Lighthouse. By November of that same year, the Board had put out a tender for clearing a line of trees and erecting a 20-foot high cairn on the top of Tasman Island[16].

Momentum towards constructing the light was short-lived, as by April 1887, the Marine Board passed a motion 'That the resolution for the erection of a light on Tasman's Island be rescinded'.[17] Their justification was that as the site was so high, the lighthouse would frequently be obscured by clouds. Several captains under the Union Steam Navigation Company had since come forward and proclaimed the light was unnecessary and that the need of a light on the south-west coast was considered greater. The Tasman Island Lighthouse was deferred in favour of building Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse, which was constructed in 1891.

By 1897, there was again agitation for a lighthouse on Tasman Island, as the number of steamers trading from Hobart to New Zealand had increased and nearby mainland cities had grown. By the early 1900s, the River Derwent had become a busy thoroughfare and ships reported several close encounters with land and delays due to the fog around the Cape Pillar region. In 1903, the Consolidated Marine Board recommended to the Tasmanian Government the necessity for a light was by then an urgent matter. The Premier agreed that the state would pay the interest