On Friday 15 March I joined the Friends of South Solitary Island Lighthouse (FOSSIL) at the Coffs Harbour Jetty for the official opening of the South Solitary Island lighthouse optic, which was turned on for 15 minutes – 144 years to the day when it was first lit on South Solitary Island in 1880.
The optic was replaced in 1975 with a fully automated electric light, bringing an end to lightkeeping on the island.
It then passed to the Coffs Harbour Regional Museum, where it was housed in a building on Harbour Drive – it stayed there for years, even after the old museum folded and the building was repurposed as a table tennis centre.
In August 2021, the NSW Coalition Government announced support for the council with an additional $175,000 grant to incorporate the South Solitary Island Lighthouse Optic within the new Community Building’s landscape.
A moving moment to see the optic restored to a prominent place on the coastline, once again in sight of the ocean, where it belongs.
Congratulations to Friends of South Solitary Island Lighthouse (FOSSIL) for keeping alive the history of the Coffs Coast.
Photos courtesy of Seen Australia and DPIE.
