- Fort Queenscliff Lighthouse
Infobox_lighthouse
name=Fort Queenscliff Lighthouse
location=Entrance to Port Phillip Bay, Australia
caption=
coordinates=coord|38|16|S|144|39|E
yearlit=1862
yeardeactivated=
automated=
intensity=
elevation=40 m
range=convert|14|nmi|km|0
foundation=
construction=Bluestone
shape= Cylindrical
marking=Dark stone, green lantern and gallery
height=18 m
lens=
characteristic=Either F or Oc. 15 s, depending on bearing
admiralty =K2325
NGA =7523.4
ARLHS =AUS-150Fort Queenscliff Lighthouse is situated in the grounds of
Fort Queenscliff in Queenscliff, Victoria,Australia , and is one of three blacklighthouse s in the world, and the only one in the Southern hemisphere. Together with the nearby white lighhouse, it was built in1862 to replace the former sandstone lighthouse of1843 on the same site which was underpowered and deteriorating.cite web|url=http://www.lighthouse.net.au/lights/VIC/Queenscliff%20Black/Black%20Lighthouse%20Queenscliff.htm|author=Lighthouses of Australia Inc.|title=The Black Lighthouse at Fort Queenscliff]The lightsource is located 40 metres above sea level (
focal plane ). Depending on the tower's bearing it emits either a fixed light or an occulting signal with an interval of 15 seconds. The black lighthouse is one of four in Queenscliff that are used as a leading line to guide ships through the notoriously dangerous mouth of Port Phillip Bay.cite web|url=http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/vic.htm|author=Rowlett, Russ|title=The Lighthouse Directory]
=Historycite web|url=http://www.lighthouse.net.au/lights/VIC/Queenscliff%20Black/Black%20Lighthouse%20Queenscliff.htm|author=Lighthouses of Australia Inc.|title=The Black Lighthouse at Fort Queenscliff] =There are two conflicting legends about where the
bluestone for the building came from. One version states that it came fromScotland as a ships ballast. In the other more likely version, the stone was quarried in Melbourne and shipped to Queenscliff. The fact that the stone was shipped may have led to the former theory's conception.Fort Queenscliff was built around the lighthouse during the Australian Gold Rush after concerns that ships carrying gold might be susceptible to attack fromprivateer s. The light was converted to gas in 1890, and then to electricity in 1924. It is supposed that the first public telephone service in Victoria was installed here. Today the lighthouse is unmanned and automated, and is serviced by thePort of Melbourne Corporation.References
External links
* [http://au.geocities.com/aust_lighthouses2/queenscliff/black_lighthouse.htm Lighthouses of Victoria]
* [http://www.portofmelbourne.com/ Port Of Melbourne Corporation]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.