Iron Pot Lighthouse, Heritage lighthouse in South Arm, Tasmania.
Iron Pot Lighthouse is a heritage lighthouse standing on the South Arm of the Derwent River in Tasmania, with a white tower approximately 11 meters tall marked by a red horizontal band near the top. The structure sits on a rocky outcrop and has guided vessels navigating the river approaches for nearly two centuries.
This lighthouse was constructed in 1832 using convict labor and remains the oldest in Tasmania. It pioneered the use of locally manufactured optics, marking an important development in regional maritime navigation technology.
The keeper's residence built in 1884 included a room for schooling the keeper's seven children in this remote setting. This arrangement shows how families adapted to life in isolation while maintaining education for their young ones.
The lighthouse is accessible from the nearby South Arm scenic area and reachable by a relatively short walk through the reserve. Visit during daylight hours when the structure and surrounding river landscape are clearly visible and the rocky location is safest to explore.
The location was explored by Matthew Flinders in 1798 when he discovered unusual magnetic properties affecting compass readings. This natural anomaly became the key reason why a lighthouse was eventually built to assist vessel navigation in the area.
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