Albany Point King Lighthouse

Standing on a rocky headland at the entrance to Princess Royal Harbour in Albany are the weathered ruins of Point King Lighthouse. Built in 1858, this was Western Australia’s second lighthouse and the first navigational light for Albany. It played a vital role in guiding ships into one of the safest natural harbours on the southern coast.

 

The Crimean War

To understand why Point King Lighthouse was built, we have to start with the Crimean War (1853–1856). This war was fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula between Russia and an alliance of Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia. It began over disputes about influence in the declining Ottoman Empire and control of Christian holy sites in Jerusalem but it quickly turned into a broader struggle over European power and Russian expansion.

 

When the war ended in 1856, Britain resumed and expanded its mail steamship services to Australia. Before the war, mail boats existed but were slow, irregular and often relied on sailing ships. The new post-war service used steamships, which were faster, more reliable and ran on fixed timetables. Ships taking the southern route from Britain to Sydney via the Cape of Good Hope and Albany needed safe navigation into Princess Royal Harbour — especially in rough weather.

 

Albany’s harbour was already valued as a deep, sheltered anchorage but without a lighthouse, approaching at night or in poor visibility was dangerous. The British Admiralty proposed building two lights: one on Breaksea Island at the mouth of King George Sound and one on Point King, marking the harbour entrance.

 

Britain would pay to ship prefabricated lighthouse components to Albany but the Western Australian colonial government had to cover the running costs — including keeper salaries, oil for the lamps and maintenance.

 

Building the Lighthouse and Keeper’s Cottage

Point King’s station was a four-room stone cottage with a 17-foot square timber tower rising from one end. The walls were built from local limestone laid in random stone (irregular-shaped blocks fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle) and mortared together with lime mortar (burnt limestone mixed with sand and water). This was the standard binding material in Western Australia before modern cement and it worked well with limestone because it was softer and allowed the wall to “breathe” without cracking.

 

Brick surrounds framed the doors and windows. These provided square, precise openings in otherwise uneven stonework, distributed weight around the openings and resisted chipping at the edges. It’s very likely the bricks were locally made in Albany from nearby clay deposits, although some may have been shipped in from Fremantle.

 

After the walls were built, the cottage was rendered and whitewashed, to protect it from the harsh salt spray and wind.

 

Who Built It?

No surviving record states it outright but it’s very likely convict labour was used. Albany had a convict hiring depot in the 1850s and government projects like lighthouses almost always drew on ticket-of-leave men and prisoners, supervised by Enrolled Pensioner Guards (retired soldiers given land in return for part-time duties). Convicts may have quarried the limestone, mixed mortar and laid the stone, while the prefabricated timber tower was assembled on site.

 

Why Not Build It Underground?

Some might wonder why the cottage wasn’t partially built into the slope for wind protection. The reason is simple: lighthouses need height. The lamp tower was built directly on top of the cottage. Lowering the building into the ground would reduce the light’s visible range. Underground rooms would also have been prone to dampness and flooding in Albany’s heavy winter rains. Thick masonry walls, a solid roof and a sheltered position were the standard way to handle gale-force winds in the 1850s.

 

The Original Oil Lamp

The first light at Point King was oil-fuelled. The flame was housed in a glass-panelled lantern room at the top of the timber tower, keeping it safe from wind and rain. This light could be seen up to 12 nautical miles away (about 22 kilometres).

 

The keeper’s main job was to keep that flame steady and bright. This meant trimming the wick, which involved cutting away the charred edge with special scissors, shaping it so the flame burned evenly and then “shaking” it to remove loose carbon that could cause smoke or flare-ups. The wick was then relit and the flame slowly adjusted until it was bright but not smoking. This had to be done regularly throughout the night.

 

Albany’s Gale-Force Winds

Point King is exposed to some of the strongest winds in Australia. This is due to:

1. The Southern Ocean’s “Roaring Forties” — powerful westerly winds that blow almost unbroken around the globe and crash straight into the south coast.

2. The meeting of the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean near Cape Leeuwin — a clash of warm and cold currents that stirs up turbulent weather.

3. Albany’s exposed headlands, which funnel and accelerate the wind.

4. No high mountains or forests nearby to act as a windbreak.

 

Despite these conditions, the tower survived because it was well-built and sheltered by the cottage structure.

 

The Keepers

• William Hill was the first to light the station on 1 January 1858. An Enrolled Pensioner Guard and former soldier of the 63rd Regiment, he served only briefly before being replaced. He later worked as assistant keeper and disappeared in 1861 (presumed drowned).

• Joseph Nelson (1858–1867) had been a Sergeant in the Royal Sappers and Miners and had supervised the building of Breaksea Island’s lighthouse. He later worked as a tinsmith, innkeeper and blacksmith in the Albany region.

• Samuel Mitchell (1867–1903) tended the light for 36 years, providing rare stability. His descendants still live in Albany.

• John Gregory Reddin (1903–1911) was the last resident keeper. Local legend claims his ghost (dressed in a coat with brass buttons, hat and pipe), still appears near the ruins.

 

Automation and New Lights

In 1911, the manned oil lamp was retired. In its place, a steel skeletal tower was built a short distance in front of the cottage in 1912. This carried an AGA occulting lantern, a Swedish invention by Gustaf Dalén. It used acetylene gas and a sun valve to switch on automatically at dusk and off at dawn, with an “occulting” pattern, so sailors could identify it on charts. This meant the light no longer needed a full-time keeper.

 

In the 1980s, the skeletal tower was replaced with the white tubular steel column that is still in place today, closer to the cliff edge and separate from the cottage ruins.

 

Breaksea Island Connection

Breaksea Island, located 12 km offshore, also had its first lighthouse built in 1858 (a cast-iron tower with stone keeper’s cottages) built by convicts. In 1902, this was replaced by the granite lighthouse that still stands today. The island is approximately 1.5 km long, uninhabited and is only visited for maintenance and conservation. Vancouver named it “Breaksea” in 1791 because it broke the heavy ocean swell before it reached King George Sound.

 

The Ruins Today

The cottage was abandoned after 1911 and gradually fell into ruin. In 2011, $20,000 was spent to stabilise the walls and slow down any further erosion. The site is heritage-listed and visited for its history, dramatic views and its place in local ghost stories.