Cape Jaffa Lighthouse

Cape Jaffa Lighthouse is a maritime navigation aid featuring eight rooms that once housed two lighthouse keepers and their families in the dwelling attached to the tower. The structure sits on a headland overlooking the water and served as a crucial guide for vessels traveling the southeastern coast.

Construction of the structure began in 1872 on Margaret Brock Reef to assist sailors on the coast. Decades later, in 1973, the federal government transferred its operation to the National Trust of South Australia.

The rooms display personal items and photographs that reveal how the lighthouse keepers and their families lived in this isolated place. Walking through the spaces gives visitors a sense of the routines and relationships that shaped daily life here.

Visitors can explore the interior through guided tours and enjoy views from the headland location. The site is accessible by local road and has parking available nearby for cars.

The structure used a screw pile design that allowed the tower to be anchored firmly to the rocky seabed below. This engineering solution was innovative for its time and made it possible to place the lighthouse in an otherwise difficult location.