Lighthouse_74

Split Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in Aireys Inlet, a small town on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia.

Originally called Eagles Nest Point, the lighthouse was constructed in 1891. It was converted to automatic operation in 1919.

The original British-made first order Fresnel lens is still in use. However, the factory in Birmingham, where the lens was built, was bombed during war-time and the essential formula for making the unique lens crystal were lost, should a replacement ever be needed.

A Japanese firm, consulted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, estimated the cost of replacing the lens at more than A$1 million.

Under standard Australian lighthouse convention, red filters would usually be placed to the extreme left and right of the beam (indicating "danger zones" for a passing ship, in-line with the jagged coastline). For reasons unknown, the Split Point Lighthouse operated for many years under the opposite system; although this has now been corrected. Split point lighthouse has 132 stairs from bottom to top and is 34 metres tall.