Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) [Babbage Island Lighthouse]

Child Places

• 25484 Babbage Island Lighthouse
• 25484 Babbage Island Lighthouse

Statement of Significance

Aesthetic Value – Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) constructed in the Federation Bungalow style, has aesthetic value as a very simple cottage built during this period.
Aesthetic Value – Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) has landmark quality due to its relationship with the light tower, ‘One Mile Jetty’ and the remains of the Carnarvon Tramway.
Aesthetic Value – In association with the light tower (1987), the ‘One Mile Jetty’ (1897-98), and the remains of the Carnarvon Tramway (c.1900s); Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) forms a precinct of turn of the century maritime buildings and structures in Carnarvon.
Historic Value – Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) has historical significance as part of a group of structures including the light tower, ‘One Mile Jetty’ and the remains of the Carnarvon tramway, that have played an important part in the development of Carnarvon as a centre of communication and transport for the Gascoyne region.
Historic Value – Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) has a close association with the Lighthouse Keepers that have lived in the cottage and maintained the light tower. Their role was important to the development and operation of the port facilities in Carnarvon and the Gascoyne Region of Western Australia.
Historic Value – The local Carnarvon community successfully lobbied to save the place from demolition in the 1980s. After restoration works, the place opened as the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage Museum during the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations.
Social Value – Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) demonstrates part of a distinctive way of life now seldom practised since the introduction of fully automated light mechanisms.
Social Value – Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) is highly valued as a museum and tourist destination and contributes to the community’s sense of place.
Rarity – Carnarvon Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage (fmr) demonstrates a distinctive way of life no longer practised in the State since the introduction of fully automated light mechanisms.
Representativeness – The design of introduction of fully automated light mechanisms. Is representative of the Federation Bungalow style (c.1890 – c.1915) and a representative example of domestic architecture by the P.W.D.

Physical Description

A gabled roofed building with an encircling broken pitch verandah. The building has five rooms with a central passage. It is located near ‘One Mile’ jetty and the tramway connecting it to the Town of Carnarvon. The port of Carnarvon in the 1890’s was the major port of the Gascoyne region facilitating the transport of wool, cattle and people by coastal steamer.

History

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage is a simple timber and iron cottage designed by the Public Works Department in 1895 and built in 1896-97 in association with a timber light tower. It is located on Babbage Island near the ‘One Mile Jetty’ and the tramway connecting it to the town of Carnarvon, all built around the same time as major improvements to the port facilities. The shipping of wool, cattle and people by coastal steamer had become big business in the north-west by the 1890s and Carnarvon was the major port to the Gascoyne region. The cottage is a reminder of the days that lighthouses required daily attention and their keepers were housed on site. The quarters consist of a four roomed cottage with a central passage and a verandah all around. The main gable roof and verandahs are sheeted in corrugated iron. Verandah roofs are sealed on the rake with reed moulded lining boards. Ceilings and walls inside are similarly sealed on the rake with reed moulded lining boards. External walls and gable ends are clad in rough weatherboards. These materials are in fair and neat condition. Timber boards to the verandahs still exist but are in poor condition. Floors appear to be supported on tree stumps in some places. The southern verandah has been enclosed and washrooms added to the seaward side of the west verandah. The yard contains a detached toilet and a standard design PWD cistern with its dome above ground level. The last Lighthouse Keeper was in residence in 1980.

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium/Medium

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.