cape willoughby lightstation

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Cape Willoughby Lightstation

Cape Willoughby Lightstation is located on a 17 ha property which consists of the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse (Sturt Light), lighthouse keepers' cottages, weather station and ruins of the original lighthouse keepers' cottages and jetty.

Matthew Flinders discovered Kangaroo Island in 1802 and named the area Cape Theta. The name was changed to Cape Willoughby between 1810 and 1814. Cape Willoughby is thought to be named after a village in Lincolnshire, England, however, it may have also been named after Sir Nesbit Josiah Willoughby who defeated the French at Mauritius while Matthew Flinders was a prisoner of the French.

The shipping trade was vital for the development of the young colony of South Australia before the advent of efficient forms of land transport. Cape Willoughby Lighthouse was built to assist the safe and economic operation of the rapidly expanding coastal shipping trade between the eastern colonies and the colony of South Australia, via Backstairs Passage. It is renowned for being a treacherous stretch of water. Some hazards include the Yatala Shoal (reef), The Pages Islands, the Scraper, strong tidal currents and high wind velocity.

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See shipwrecks in the area.

See signal flags used by ships in the past and today.