Major upgrade begins on Kangaroo Island's Cape Willoughby Conservation Park
Kangaroo Island’s Cape Willoughby Conservation Park, home to South Australia’s oldest operational lighthouse, will undergo a $5 million upgrade, enhancing the visitor experience at the popular site on the easternmost tip of the island.
The upgrade includes a new visitor information centre, café, park tours, walking trails and interpretive signage.
The upgrade is jointly funded by the Australian and South Australian governments and includes construction of additional carparks to provide parking for tour buses and accessible spaces.
A State Heritage place, Cape Willoughby Lighthouse once played a vital role in the shipping trade in South Australia before modern land-based transport. Several historical shipwrecks are located in the adjacent waters.
The 174-year-old lighthouse was built to assist the safe journey of ships passing through Backstairs Passage during a time of rapidly expanding coastal shipping trade.
South Australian architects Cumulus Studio and Kangaroo Island builders, Kauppila, have been engaged to design and construct the Visitor Centre.
Works are expected to begin in October (weather permitting) and be completed by June 2026. Construction of a lookout area at the Devil’s Kitchen area was completed in April.
The lighthouse is still operational today, becoming automated (unmanned) in 1992.
For more information about Cape Willoughby Conservation Park go to Cape Willoughby… - National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia.
