Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2014L00095:body:0:p7
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2014L00095
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Character Range: 16899–19892

maintenance works, and changes to the fabric, in the GBRMPA and AMSA heritage registers.

The key performance indicators for the heritage management plan are:

      * The preservation of the Commonwealth heritage values of the lightstation for current and future generations;

      * Meeting the Implementation Plan (page 61) and maintenance requirements relevant to the lightstation and AMSA's operational requirements for the lighthouse, consistent with lease requirements;

      * Ensuring that any interpretation materials used for staff instruction, or for special interest visits if they occur, accurately represent the history and Commonwealth heritage values of the place; and

      * The publication of this heritage management plan on the GBRMPA and AMSA websites and, as a registered legislative instrument, on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

3. A brief history of Dent Island Lightstation

3.1 Australia's lighthouses
Since Governor Lachlan Macquarie ordered the building of a lighthouse at South Head near the entrance to Port Jackson in 1816 (and was criticised by his superiors in London for the cost), providing aids to navigation has been the business of Australian government agencies. It was a costly undertaking to build and operate lighthouses, but lighthouses reduced the risk of shipwreck and the cost was worthwhile. Up to the present time the cost has largely been paid by the operators of ships, through various schemes of dues, levies and charges.

Each of the colonies developed its own particular types and systems of lighthouse operation, reflecting the volume of shipping, the value of trade, the local building materials and the local navigation hazards. The earliest lighthouses were built in New South Wales — others in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia came later.

When the colony of Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859 there was only one lighthouse in the new territory: Cape Moreton Lighthouse, a stone tower completed in 1857. The new colony, with no railways and only a few rough roads, depended on coastal shipping, despite the difficulties of navigating a coast set behind the Great Barrier Reef. From separation in 1859 until federation in 1901 the Queens­land marine authorities built an impressive set of lighthouses, which demonstrate remark­able frugality and technical innovation. The type of timber-framed, iron-sheeted lighthouse tower (of which the 1879 Dent Island Lighthouse is a typical example) is a local Queensland invention.

When the Australian colonies federated in 1901, it was decided that the new Com­monwealth government would be responsible for coastal lighthouses. This arrange­ment came into effect after the necessary legislation was passed in 1912, a survey of existing lighthouses was conducted by Commander C R W Brewis RN, and a bureaucracy was established. The transfer of Queensland lighthouses to the new Commonwealth Lighthouse Service