Smoky Cape Lighthouse, Maritime lighthouse in South West Rocks, Australia
Smoky Cape Lighthouse is an octagonal brick tower on a narrow headland inside Hat Head National Park, on the New South Wales coast. The tower rises above the surrounding scrub and sits alongside a group of keepers' cottages that are still standing today.
James Barnet, the Colonial Architect of New South Wales, designed the lighthouse, and it was completed in 1891 as one of his last major works along the coast. It was built to warn ships away from a section of coastline where a number of vessels had already come to grief.
The name comes from Captain Cook's sighting of smoke rising from Aboriginal fires on the cape during his 1770 voyage along this coast. Visitors standing on the headland today look out over the same stretch of water that Cook recorded in his charts.
The lighthouse is reached through Hat Head National Park, where a daily vehicle entry fee applies. The headland is open and exposed to wind, so bring a layer and wear shoes with a good grip on uneven ground.
The old keepers' cottages next to the tower have been converted into guest accommodation, so visitors can actually spend a night on the lighthouse grounds. This gives a rare chance to see the light working after dark from the site itself.
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