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Spotlight on the National Archives!
By Robert Beattie
'People seem to have romantic notions about lighthouse keepers, but I've found nothing romantic about it. It 's a long way up to that light at 2 am.'
Col Cotter, lightkeeper of Cape Wickham lighthouse-the tallest lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere with 220 steps to the top.
The latest National Archives exhibition, Beacons by the Sea: Stories of Australian Lighthouses, is proving to be a real crowd-pleaser.
It seems these isolated and familiar landmarks along the Australian coastline conjure a magic mix of romance and wonder. According to the Archives ' visitor book, some people even harbour a secret desire to live in one!
While the main purpose of lighthouses has always been to guide ships and warn of navigational dangers, the exhibition reveals they once provided hundreds of Australian families with an income, not to mention a rather unusual lifestyle.
The keepers led a rather Spartan existence in the shadow of a lonely lighthouse. Although they didn't occupy the lighthouse itself, they usually lived with their family in a cottage close by-high on a windswept cliff or out on a bleak promontory. It was not everyone 's cup of tea.
But technological advances in maritime navigation have ended that solitary occupation and all Australian lighthouses now self-operate. Some, like the Byron Bay lighthouse, have become tourist icons while others, like Green Cape and Gabo Island, provide bed and breakfast accommodation.
In recalling the halcyon days of lighthouses, Beacons by the Sea features original plans, letters, logbooks, photographs and film.
Much of the material is from the Archives' own collection with additional items sourced from the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the Eden Killer Whale Museum and the Queensland Maritime Museum.
The exhibition looks at lighthouses from inside and out, touching on the humorous, sad and sometimes tragic stories and experiences of those who lived there. Whether you love lighthouses for their history, their function or simply for their architectural allure, Beacons by the Sea has something for you.
The National Archives is a treasure trove of fascinating material. Besides its extensive holdings of lighthouse records, the Archives keeps such things as personal papers of past Prime Ministers, post office plans, theatrical scripts, early trademarks, ships' passenger lists, trademarks and electoral rolls.
The Archives also has a large collection of audio recordings and film and its photographic library contains hundreds of thousands of colour and black and white images.
Beacons by the Sea was recently awarded a grant under the Commonwealth Government's Visions of Australia touring program, which will greatly assist the Archives in travelling the exhibition to the 18 venues around Australia already keen to exhibit it. It goes on tour around Australia starting in May 2003 in Fremantle, Western Australia, and finishes in October 2006 in Darwin.
Contact:
For a preview of what 's in store at the National Archives for the coming months and the full exhibition calendar for Beacons by the Sea, go to the Archives' website at www.naa.gov.au or telephone: 02 6212 3600. The National Archives in Canberra is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm and admission is free. The Archives also has offices in each state and territo