Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01056:reg:2020:p8
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01056
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2020 (pt 8/18)
Character Range: 66230–69283

Wadjemup Lighthouse was replaced in 1896, the same year Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was constructed. Both lighthouses were designed by WT Douglass and constructed from locally-quarried limestone (see Figure 15). Wadjemup stands at 38 metres high and Cape Leeuwin is 39 metres. Both Wadjemup Lighthouse, installed with a 1st Order eight panel lens, and Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, installed with a 1st Order bi-valve lens, continue to operate on a mercury bath pedestal.
Figure 15. Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) Lighthouse drawing 1884-85. Image courtesy of the National Archives of Australia, NAA: K1372, WN/01/014/01 (© Commonwealth of Australia, National Archives of Australia)

5. Heritage Significance
5.1 Commonwealth heritage list – Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse
Statement of Commonwealth heritage significance
The following information is taken from the Cape Leeuwin Lightstation listing on the Australian Heritage Database (Place ID: 105416).
    Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, completed in 1896, is important in illustrating the development of coastal navigation in Australia and the evolution of lighthouse design following the inter-colonial conference of 1873 in Sydney which resulted in an agreed series of decisions which would result in a rough national chain of navigational aids. The lighthouse had two functions; to mark the coastal route to Perth via Albany and as the first landfall for vessels crossing the Indian Ocean to Australia. The upgrading of the lighthouse in 1925 under the Commonwealth illustrates the increasing importance of coastal shipping in Australia (Criterion A) (Australian Historic Themes: 3.8 Moving goods and people)
    Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is exceptionally important in demonstrating in its original lens array and rotation mechanism the earliest use of the mercury bath system in Australia (Criterion B).
    In conjunction with the Keepers Cottages (separately listed at File No. 5/2/40/4) the Lighthouse is important in illustrating the principal characteristics of late nineteenth century lighthouse complexes in remote coastal areas (Criterion D).
    The lighthouse, situated on a narrow, sparsely vegetated strip of land and surrounded by sea on three sides, is significant as a prominent landmark feature on the coast of Western Australia (WA). The height of the lighthouse also makes it an outstanding landmark from the land and in particular from the approach road from Augusta (Criterion E).
    The area has known Indigenous heritage values. The Australian Heritage Commission has not yet assessed the national estate significance of these values.
Commonwealth heritage values – criteria
There are nine criteria for inclusion in the Commonwealth Heritage List – meeting any one of these is sufficient for listing a place. These criteria are similar to those used in other Commonwealth, state and local heritage legislation, although thresholds differ. In the following sections, the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is discussed in relation to each of the criteria as based on the site's current Commonwealth Heritage