South Channel Pile Light

The single-story octagonal lighthouse features a timber structure on screw-driven piles, with a metal lantern housing and surrounding verandah measuring 9 meters tall.

The Public Works Department designed and constructed this navigational aid between 1872 and 1874, serving ships entering Melbourne through the South Channel until 1985.

The lighthouse walls contained maritime murals created by the light keeper between 1905 and 1913, which are now preserved in the Melbourne Maritime Museum.

Following restoration in 1998, the structure was relocated three kilometers from Rye Beach, with the original timber piles remaining at the initial site.

The metal structure operated continuously for 111 years using acetylene gas after 1925, guiding vessels through Port Phillip Bay with a two-nautical-mile range.

Location: Victoria

Inception: 1874

GPS coordinates: -38.30500,144.75667

Latest update: March 6, 2025 01:08