Cape Otway Lightstation

Cape Otway Lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia.

Built in 1848, the lighthouse perches on towering sea cliffs where Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean collide.

Hundreds of lives were lost in shipwrecks off Cape Otway – a sad but fascinating history which led to the building of the Lightstation on the coast at the foot of the impenetrable forests of the Otways.

For many thousands of 19th century migrants, who spent months travelling to Australia by ship, Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe.