West Channel Pile Light, Heritage-listed lighthouse in St Leonards, Victoria, Australia.
West Channel Pile Light is a lighthouse built on timber piles with a concrete platform supporting an octagonal two-story tower. The structure contains keeper quarters and a lantern room that continues to mark shipping routes through Port Phillip Bay.
Built in 1881 by contractor Robert Thornton, this lighthouse replaced a lightship that had operated since 1854. The original lantern and upper tower from the earlier vessel were repurposed in the new structure.
The lighthouse embodies the working relationship between sea and land that shaped the region's maritime identity. Visitors can observe the spaces where keepers once lived while maintaining watch over shipping routes.
The lighthouse sits on the water and access depends on weather and tide conditions, so planning ahead is important. Sturdy footwear is recommended since the timber platform can be slippery in wet conditions.
This pile light is one of only two functioning examples in Australia that combines a working lighthouse with built-in keeper quarters and original nineteenth-century light technology. The rarity of this design makes it a notable survivor of a specific era in maritime engineering.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
