It's not the same as being in town of course [picture] : Mr. John Cook checks the electric bulb inside the [Maatsuyker Island] lighthouse's prism /

• Main Author: McKinnon, John, photographer.
• Other Authors: Australian Information Service.
• Format: Still Image
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1977. 1977
• Subjects: Cook; John; lighthouse keeper > Portraits; Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse > Photographs; Lighthouses > Tasmania > Maatsuyker Island > Photographs; Lighthouses > Lighting > Tasmania > Maatsuyker Island > Photographs; Lighthouse keepers > Tasmania > Maatsuyker Island > Portraits; Prisms > Photographs; Maatsuyker Island (Tas.) > Photographs; Lighthouse keepers; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3513220

Condition: Good; Title from information printed on reverse.; Inscriptions: Title and summary printed on reverse. "(24.6.77), Lighthouses - Tasmania, 1/7/77/2, P77/436"--printed on reverse.; Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3513220. Australia's most southern lighthouse is situated on Maatsuyker Island, a speck of rock 19 km (11.8 miles) off the south coast of Tasmania, Australia's island state. Set in the long swells and storms of the Southern Ocean in the wind belt known as the Roaring 40's, life on the island is not easy. The lighthouse guards a dangerous coast behind which lie thousands of hectares of forest wilderness. The lighthouse is manned by a head keeper and two assistant keepers. The lighthouse rises 107 m (351 feet) above the ocean and consists of a small electric light magnified through a revolving prism. The prism is turned by a clockwork motor powered by a weighted chain running down through the tower. Although the keepers have a telephone link with the mainland, physical contact with the outside world is limited to a fortnightly helicopter visit and occasional supply boats.