Cape Don Light, Coastal lighthouse in Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory, Australia.
Cape Don Light is a lighthouse on Cape Don at the tip of the Cobourg Peninsula in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, Northern Territory, marking the entrance to Dundas Strait. Its cylindrical tower rises 28 metres from the ground to the platform, with an octagonal base and a reddish-orange lower shaft bearing a green door in a white panel. A white gallery railing surrounds the original 3.25-metre Chance Brothers lantern, topped by a white domed roof with a finial.
The lighthouse was constructed between 1915 and 1917 by the Commonwealth Government using materials shipped from Melbourne because local materials proved inadequate for the harsh coastal conditions. Its completion improved navigation safety for ships traveling through one of Australia's most remote waterways.
The lighthouse complex includes three residences and ancillary buildings, representing early 20th-century Commonwealth maritime infrastructure in Northern Territory.
The site lies at the tip of the Cobourg Peninsula inside Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, reached by road only in the dry season, roughly April to November, when construction work was also possible. The light is operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the site is managed by the park authorities. The path of the original tramway to Christies Bay is still visible, with a 90-metre causeway through a mangrove swamp at its end.
The lighthouse was converted to Australia's first solar-powered beacon in 1983, with the original kerosene light replaced by a high-intensity solar system. This early adoption of renewable energy at a remote Australian coastal station demonstrated innovative approaches to powering navigation aids.
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