The heavy twin tanks formerly contained vaporised kerosene which was used as a fuel to light the lantern. Kerosene became available in the 1860s as the oil industry in the United States developed, and vaporised kerosene soon became the most common system of illumination. The kerosene vapour lamp was perfected by Chance Bros. for burning the light in their renowned lenses. The system involved vaporising kerosene under pressure and mixing it with air and then burning the vapour to heat an incandescent mantle. The lamp had to be watched throughout the night in case a mantle broke, and the tanks needed to be maintained by hand-pumping each hour or so. Kerosene tanks like these were developed in the early twentieth century, and kerosene as a fuel was phased out by electricity, with the last kerosene system in Australia eventually replaced in 1985. The wick lamp in Gabo Island’s light was altered to a vaporised incandescent kerosene mantle burner in 1909. They would have been in use until 1935, when the light was electrified and the original first-order lens was replaced by a fourth-order lens. The Gabo Island tanks, which are presumed to be those used in the lighthouse between 1909 and 1935, are not attached to the optical apparatus and are no longer in the lighthouse. They are also missing the pressure gauges that were formerly attached to the top of each cylinder. Cape Schanck has a pair of unattached tanks, which are not historically associated with the lighthouse. Point Hicks has an iron stand that formerly supported its lighthouse oil tanks. Despite their lack of intactness, the Gabo Island tanks have first level contributory significance for their provenance to the lightstation and historic association with the lantern’s original Chance Brothers first order lens, which was removed in 1935Two large green cylinders standing in a metal frame. There is also a pumping mechanism attached to the stand with a wooden handle.

Detached sector panel from upper lantern. The lens segment is one of a pair of freestanding panels that formerly stood on a platform in the upper lantern room on either side of a small fixed light. The platform rested above the 1860/62 Chance Bros. first order, fixed lens and could be accessed by a ladder. The two sector lens panels were each set in a bronze frame and comprised a curved wider (belt) piece in the centre with nine curved, slim line pieces above and below it (19 pieces in total). The belt aligned with the light source to provide optimal focus and range. The panels, the light and the platform were installed in 1934 to upgrade the original optical system with red warning lights. Fitting them above the lantern was a convenient and inexpensive way to do this, with each lens panel set up behind a red glass panel to project a red sector to the seaward over to Cape Howe and the Western Shore. The two sectors are likely to be Chance Bros. by manufacture although they do not appear to bear the maker’s name. This is probably because Chance Bros. typically fixed metal plaques to their apparatus and tended not to stamp smaller components such as their lens frames. It could possibly indicate that the two sectors are former components of a larger system, i.e. another lens. This can easily be confirmed by closely inspecting the bronze frames. A series of holes on the frame would indicate that ‘they would have bolted to other panels to make a larger lens assembly’. The absence of holes would confirm that ‘they were made specifically to stand alone’. The sector panels were removed from the Gabo lantern in February 1992. At some point after their removal, they were found in boxes marked with ‘Ince Pt.’, however it is thought that Ince Point lighthouse ‘never had … stand alone sectors’. The panel in the Gabo Island collection is one of two segments discovered at the Eden Killer Whale Museum in about 2007. One section was repatriated to Gabo Island and the other was to go to Smoky Cape Lighthouse in northern NSW. The Gabo lens segment has first level contributory significance for its historic value and provenance to the lantern room. It is recommended that Parks Victoria/AMSA seek to return the Smoky Cape segment to Gabo Island and reunite the sector panels.The Gabo lens segment has first level contributory significance for its historic value and provenance to the lantern room.Section of a lens from a lighting apparatus , rectangular louvers of glass enclosed in a metal frame.

The cylindrical cardboard container with lid formerly contained a ventometer, a small simple tool for measuring wind speed. It consisted of a clear tube containing a small diaphragm which had a hole in the bottom for wind to enter. Once the wind entered the tube it pushed up the diaphragm, indicating the rate of velocity. Ventometers were common devices that have since been replaced by more sophisticated measuring equipment, such as digital air speed meters. Further information on this particular example, including perhaps the name of the manufacturer, may survive on the container but this has not been recorded. The small simple tool for measuring wind speed pre-dates the electronic devices at Gabo Island.Tubed shaped cardboard container with lid to house instrument for measuring. (instrument is missing) Inscriptions and illustrations on exterior.

For medical emergencies at Gabo Island. Unsure if ever used. The portable, manual resuscitator kit is contained in its original green vinyl, hinged case that has corner protectors and two metal front fasteners. Information on the case indicates that it is an ‘Air CIG Viva Resuscitator’. It was used for manual force feeding oxygen into a person’s lungs with the use of a breathing bag, and there are instructions for using the resuscitating bag. The kit was produced by the Commonwealth Industrial Gases Limited, Alexandria, NSW, a company active between 1935 and 1994. An identical kit, which has been accurately dated to 1951, remains at the Cape Otway Lightstation . Another identical kit is held by the Ambulance Historical Society Victoria.Both kits have first level contributory significance for their historic values and provenance.Resuscitator box, green vinyl, hinged handle at top. Two metal fasteners on front, metal plated corners on lid. White thread stitching around edges. Case contains a resuscitator kit.On case "Air CIG Viva Resuscitator. "On sticker "C. of A. D.O.T. 141545"

Further information on the unidentified object has not been available during preparation of this report, but it may be a buoy light, or perhaps even a solar powered rotating light made by Pharos Marine, New Zealand. Portable beacon lights were made with a plastic lens and an aluminium base and it is known that one of these was installed in the Gabo Island Lighthouse in February 1992. It was replaced in May 2006 and the lights are now no longer used within the AMSA network. The unidentified item, which can be described as a white painted conical object, appears to be associated with signalling, but more information is needed to confirm this. These items of equipment are presumed to relate to core lightstation functions and look to be in good condition. They have at least second level significance for their probable provenance and association with the theme of visual signalling and the use of navigation equipment for maintaining safe routes for shipping.Beacon and unidentified object (GILS 0095) The portable beacon is a small rotating light containing a lens and prism. The other item can be described as a white painted conical object.

The iron anchor is from the iron steamship, Easby built in England in 1873. It struck Skerries Reef at Gabo Island and sank in the harbour in April 1907 while carrying a cargo of potatoes. The iron anchor was recovered from the wreck at an unknown date and put on display between the two sets of keepers’ quarters. Parts of the ship, including the collapsed hull plating, engine and boilers as well as another anchor lie at a shallow depth at the wreck site 15m west of the jetty. This wreck became a shipping hazard and was eventually blown up. (1928) Another anchor of identical design lies underwater on the shoreline 15 metres west of the jetty.The wreck site and relics, including the anchor on display, are protected by the Victorian Heritage Register (VHDS S204).Large rusted metal anchor.

Lightstations Flying Doctor first aid kit. Medical first aid box kept at Lightstation. According to a Lighthouse keeper each item was numbered to ensure correct administration of medications by Lightstation staff via radio contact with The Flying Doctor Service. The lightstation’s first aid case is a red painted metal box. The hinged lid is stencilled with white words of caution such as ‘handle with care and ‘this side up’. Inside are four tray inserts of different sizes. Until recent years the contents of the kit, including medications and an instruction book, were intact but have since been lost and cannot be located. Of the six lightstations investigated by this assessment project, it would seem that the case, which possibly dates to the early 1900s, is unique in its survival at Gabo Island. The cabinet has first level contributory significance for its historic value and provenance to the lightstation.The cabinet has first level contributory significance for its historic value and provenance to the lightstation.Red painted metal box with hinged lid. It has side handles with four removable, red painted metal tray inserts of varying sizes. Inscriptions stencilled in white on lid. Trays have letters stencilled in white on three sides. There are three latches to secure lid. Lock on central latch.Main chest stencilled in white , on top: "NO 3 / LIGHTHOUSE / ROYAL FLYINNG DOCTOR/ MEDICATIONS/HANDLE WITH CARE / THIS SIDE UP" •Four tray inserts, stencilled in white: "A", "B", "C", "D".

The ceramic insulators were used by the PMG to insulate telephone lines connecting to the lightstation accommodation. The installation of a single galvanised wire telegraph line in 1873 provided the lightstation with a vital link to the outside world via Morse code. In 1875, the Australasian Sketcher reported on the new facility, writing that ‘the lighthouse on the extreme point of the promontory is connected with Melbourne by a line of telegraph, and as a large number of vessels pass in sight of the lighthouse, useful information is gained respecting their movements’.The system was immobilised in 1885 when a thunderstorm caused some of the poles to explode and connection wires to fuse and turn into molten metal. During WWII the lighthouse line was upgraded to four copper wires, and in 1971 a radio link replaced the line. The lines required constant maintenance. Some poles remain along the length of the promontory’s Telegraph Track as reminders of this former communication link. Insulators can also be found in the collections at Cape Schanck; Cape Otway and Gabo Island. Comprises a white ceramic insulator attached to a rectangular metal plate.

The lightstation was connected by telephone to Cann River in 1928. The lighthouse retains ablack Bakelite telephone attached to the lantern room wall on timber box mount. It has a crank handle with instructions for its use on the crank dial, and a coiled handset cord, which probably dates the phone to just after 1949 when coiled examples like these began to replace fabric covered smooth cords. An image in 1991 shows the phone in the lower level of the lantern room It is one of four telephones at the lightstsation; with two others attached to walls in the assistant keepers’ quarters, and one in the head keeper’s quarters. The four phones formed an intercom system that facilitated communication between the lightstation buildings. Three telephones of the same wall-mounted, crank dial type remain at Gabo Island Lightstation; four remain at Cape Otway and five older examples remain at Cape Nelson Lightstation As fixtures attached to the wall, the four telephones are considered to be part of the building fabric and therefore included in the existing Victorian Heritage Register listing for the lightstation (VHR 1983).As fixtures attached to the wall, the four telephones are considered to be part of the building fabric and therefore included in the existing VHR listing for the lightstation (VHR 1983).Four telephones with a crank handle mounted on a wooden base, one is fixed to the wall of the lantern room and is black bakelite. Yes

The two semaphore flags were used as a pair for visual signaling by hand. The semaphore system is an alphabet signaling system based on the waving of a pair of handheld flags in a particular pattern to compose words to be communicated to passing ships. The system was introduced by the Royal Navy in 1880 and was later adopted in Australia, with the first School of Signaling opening in Williamstown in 1890. The system was superseded in the 1970s by more sophisticated methods of communication. Information on the Cape Nelson flags indicates that they were made by Evan Evans P/L, Flag makers, 690 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. Evan Evans (d.1927) started a tent‐making business in 1877 and by 1920 Evan Evans P/L maker of canvas goods, was located at 680 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. In 1924 it acquired land at 632 Bourke Street and built a new factory. His son Ivor continued the business after 1927 and in 1938 opened a bulk store in Carlton.271 In 2016 the firm was located at 673 Spencer Street, Melbourne. Another pair of white semaphore flags made by Evan & Evans is held at Gabo Island, and Wilsons Promontory also has a pair. Cape Nelson’s white semaphore flags have second level contributory significance. They have historical importance as flags formerly used at the lightstation for visual signaling, a system that is now rarely used in navigation, and contribute to the importance of the lightstation’s large collection of flags.A pair of white flags made of white canvas/heavy cotton, the square flags are attached to dowel poles with staples.

Their polished wood finish appears to be original to their date of manufacture during the 1960s‐70s. They were located in the head keeper’s and assistant keepers’ quarters, where their use for office purposes also may have crossed over to a domestic function. In the post‐war years the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service (CLS) introduced modern, low‐cost furnishings to lightstations. Most notably, it commissioned a number of light, compact and functional items in bulk from émigré designer, Steven Kalmar (1909‐ 1989), who played a significant role in popularising modernist design concepts in Australia and drew his ideas from Scandinavian and American design trends. Born in Hungary, he trained as an architect and his contemporary affordable furnishings were especially suitable for the open‐plan houses being built in Australia’s new post‐war suburbs. It is not known whether the bookcases bear the Kalmar label, but the design, particularly the legs and bar bracing, is a signature style that is associated with his Sydney‐based firm, Kalmar Interiors. The CLS supplied the same bookshelves to a number of other lightstations, including Point Hicks, Cape Otway and Gabo Island, as well as other types of furnishings such as tables and cabinets. The bookcases have first level contributory significance as examples of the modernist furnishings that the Sydney‐based firm, Kalmar Interiors supplied to the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service in the post‐war years.The bookcases stand at about bench level and are almost square in dimension. They have two adjustable shelves as well as the base shelf and stand on legs supported by a single stretcher with a polished wood finish.

This item, which dates to 1988, is contained in the original supply packet and survives in good condition. It was commonly used by lightkeepers for both wet and dry bulb thermometers, with the muslin going into the bottom of the dry bulb where it was held in place by the wick and ‘end of the wick was then placed in a jar of deep water to keep the bulb cool’. The difference in temperatures between the dry and wet bulb thermometers could then be worked out to establish the dew point in the air.They were common in lightstations, but this intact item remains in the original packaging and is a fine representative example of its kind. It was acquired from the Bureau of Meteorology. Recording and communicating weather readings was an important facet of lightstation work and a number of different but related items of meteorological equipment survive at the six lightstations managed by parks Victoria. The Cape Nelson collection includes a pair of Australian-made thermometers in their original box, both in Fahrenheit, with one recording the minimum, the other the maximum temperature and a barometer table with instructions for correcting readings. Cape Otway has a Beaufort Scale, a table of wind forces which lists 12 types on a scale of 1 to 12, and provides associated speed in knots and travel time per minute or hour. Gabo Island has an anemometer, wind speed indicator and a wind speed recorder.Muslin and wick for a wet bulb thermomenter in unopened white paper packaging with directions for use printed on the package on the front.On front of package,"MUSLIN AND WICK FOR WET BULB THERMOMETER......."

This device was used to measure surface wind speed and direction. This anemometer was located on a concrete pad outside room 2.15 on a steel pole. The pole was considered unsafe and the anemometer was relocated to it's current position. When lowering the pole it fell over and was badly damaged. The Bureau of Meteorology donated it to the museum. It was then repaired and restored. The central pole on which it is mounted is galvanised iron pipe painted black. The anemometer, a portable device that manually measures wind speed, was a necessary instrument once common to all weather stations. The arms are attached to a vertical rod and as the wind blows, the cups rotate, making the rod spin. The stronger the wind blows, the faster the rod spins. The anemometer counts the number of rotations, or turns, which is used to calculate wind speed, surface wind and direction. They were designed to be durable to withstand the corrosive environment and strong winds expected at coastal sites such as those at Gabo Island. Anemometers existed in the nineteenth century and their design was improved by various experts including John Robinson in 1846, John Patterson in 1926, Brevoort and Joiner in 1935 and Derek Watson in 1991 who added wind direction measurement to its functions. This example was made for the Bureau of Meteorology by the Melbourne instrument company, Synchrotac, which became registered and incorporated on 26 July 1966. It is now displayed inside the building. A good example of its kind, the anemometer has first level contributory significance for its historic value and provenance to the lightstation.Anemometer and tripod stand. Three cupped brass discs on rotating arms fixed to turned brass cylinder shaped shaft. Beneath discs is a lead directional wind arrow attached to a rotating arm. A wooden three legged stand with central supporting pole of black painted hardwood and attached to a white painted marine ply circular base.Under wind cups: " SYNCHROTAC / MELB. / ser.no.70/372 / MADE IN AUSTRALIA." Above wind direction arrow: "C.OF.APT..../ SYNCHROTAC / MELB ? MADE IN AUSTRALIA / ser.no.70/372"

The 41 alphabetic and numeric visual signalling flags (including substitute and answering pennants) have either square or pointed ends. They are made of bunting, a coarse fabric of worsted (open yarn wool) in various colour combinations. Some of the flags are marked with inscriptions, for example “B”. Attachments to the flags include hemp rope and metal clips. Each flag has its own galvanised canister and lid, each of which is painted grey and marked with a letter, number or word. The flags were used for communicating messages to passing ships. Knowledge of visual signalling was mandatory for all lightkeepers and all lightstations maintained a set of flags. Although used for centuries, visual flag signalling formally developed in the nineteenth century and was published internationally as a system in 1857. By the early twentieth century it had developed into an effective means of conveying all kinds of short range visual messages. The signal flags and canisters at Gabo Island form a complete set and are not historically linked to the lightstation and their provenance is unknown. It is known however that they originate from a lightstation in Victoria and for some years were on loan from AMSA to the Queenscliff Maritime Museum, where they were held in storage and not displayed. Three of the six lightstations that Parks Victoria manages have sets of signal flags in their collections. Forty navigational signal alphabet flags & numeral pennants. Flags are made of wool.

The 41 alphabetic and numeric visual signalling flags (including substitute and answering pennants) have either square or pointed ends. They are made of bunting, a coarse fabric of worsted (open yarn wool) in various colour combinations. Some of the flags are marked with inscriptions, for example “B”. Attachments to the flags include hemp rope and metal clips. Each flag has its own galvanised canister and lid, each of which is painted grey and marked with a letter, number or word. The flags were used for communicating messages to passing ships. Knowledge of visual signalling was mandatory for all lightkeepers and all lightstations maintained a set of flags. Although used for centuries, visual flag signalling formally developed in the nineteenth century and was published internationally as a system in 1857. By the early twentieth century it had developed into an effective means of conveying all kinds of short range visual messages. The signal flags and canisters at Gabo Island form a complete set and are not historically linked to the lightstation and their provenance is unknown. It is known however that they originate from a lightstation in Victoria and for some years were on loan from AMSA to the Queenscliff Maritime Museum, where they were held in storage and not displayed. In three of the six lightstations that Parks Victoria manages have sets of signal flags in their collections. Forty-one galvanised canisters with separate lids. The canisters are painted a grey/white colour and have either numbers, letters or words painted on the lid and on the cannister in black paint. There are variations in the style of canister and in the style of the inscriptions.

The two hand-held, portable kerosene lamps each have green enamel caps over the glass. They were used from around the 1930s until 1993, and one is now located on the groundfloor level of the lighthouse and the other is in the assistant lightkeeper’s quarters. The brand name of the Point Hicks lamp, while not stated is probably Coleman, Tilley or Austramax, which were all similarly made, portable pressurised kerosene lamps. Coleman brand pressure lamps and lanterns were first made in about 1905 by American, William Coleman, and their English competitor was the firm, Tilley. The Australian company Austramax began manufacturing kerosene pressure lamps in Brunswick in 1946, making the bases and the workings by hand, turning out 1000s of lamps each week. Portable lamps were used worldwide where bright light was needed and they became essential as an emergency back-up source of light for the lightstation as well as the lantern room. Through the multiplication of light by the lighthouse lenses, they could provide a tower with a 26 nautical mile range. Lamps similar to the two Point Hicks examples can be found at Gabo Island, one of which is a green enamelled Austramax lamp; Cape Nelson (Austramax), and similar lamps are held at Cape Schanck and Cape Otway. The two Point Hicks lamps have first level contributory significance for their historic value and provenance, and as representative examples of lamps that were widely used in Australian lightstations between the 1930s and 1960s.PHLS0008.1 & PHLS0008.2 Pressurised kerosene lamp, cover over glass is made of green enamelled metal.

The ‘Resumatic’ brand, British made, lightweight device comprises a red pulley with attached length of white rope and harness. Information on the item indicates that it was the property of the Department of Transport, Australia. The Commonwealth Lighthouse Service was associated with the Department of Shipping and Transport in 1951 and the Navigational Aids Branch of the Department of Transport in 1972 so the harness may date to this period. The easily operated descent device was used for automatic, controlled descents from overhead structures, such as towers and other buildings and did not require a power source or tools. The user needed to make sure the unit is secured to an anchor point so that the cable could be dropped to the ground. As soon as it was secured the user could put on the support harness, step off the edge and travel down to safety. The device complements a number of other items of rescue equipment held in the wider Parks Victoria lightstation collection which attest to the dangers inherent in lightstation work and necessity for first aid kits, resuscitators, life buoys, life jackets and other devices such as harnesses and pulleys used for moving people. These include a bosun’s chair and harness with pulley, Royal Flying Doctor first aid cabinet, resuscitator kit and case, first aid kit, lifebuoy and cork fragments x 4 all in the Gabo Island collection; a rescue basket, resuscitation kit and case, and pulleys and ropes at Cape Otway; rescue stretcher made of bamboo at Wilsons Promontory; and a rescue anchor at Cape Schanck. The Cape Nelson rescue harness, although unique in the broader lightstation collection, is a relatively common device that is still manufactured more or less the same in England. It has second level contributory significance for offering insights into the various methods used in rescue operations by Victoria’s lightstations.Length of white rope attached to a harness and a red pully device.yes

The two identical bookcases probably date to the 1960s-70s period and retain their original light wood finish. They contain two adjustable shelves as well as the base shelf and stand on four legs braced by a stretcher extending across the front and around the sides. The bracing and the angled slightly curved front legs, which do not align with corners of the cabinet, produce the appearance of a box resting on a separate frame. These modern style bookshelves are examples of the low-cost furnishings that the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service (CLS) introduced to Australian lightstations in the post-war years. Most notably, it commissioned a number of light, compact and functional items in bulk from émigré designer, Steven Kalmar (1909-1989), who played a significant role in popularising modernist design concepts in Australia and drew his ideas from Scandinavian and American design trends. Born in Hungary, he trained as an architect and his contemporary affordable furnishings were especially suitable for the open-plan houses being built in Australia’s new post-war suburbs. It is not known whether the bookcases bear the Kalmar label, but the design, particularly the legs and bar bracing, is a signature style of his Sydney-based firm, Kalmar Interiors. The CLS supplied the same bookshelves to a number of other lightstations, including Cape Nelson (3 examples), Cape Otway and Gabo Island (2 examples), as well as other types of furnishings such as tables and nests of coffee tables, cabinets, drawers, bedside tables. The Point Hicks bookcases original function was more likely office-related rather than domestic. The bookcases have first level contributory significance for their provenance and historic value as examples of the modernist furnishings that the Sydney-based firm, Kalmar Interiors supplied to the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service in the post-war years.Two bookcases in the Scandinavian style. Each have 3 internal shelves and four legs, light coloured wood.

The tall, two‐door cupboard with curved shelves is without a back and is taller than the bench cupboard on the lower lantern room of the lighthouse . The curved shelving suggests that this practical storage cupboard was custom‐built or adapted to serve in this location on the landing level below the lantern room. It is not known when it was provided to the lightstation. It shares the structural features of this furnishing as well as other nineteenth century utilitarian cabinets that were made for Victoria’s lightstations, such as those fitted beside fireplaces in the keepers’ quarters (for example CNLS 0016) or serving as lantern room cupboards. They have doors simply framed and bevelled around central panels. This particular cupboard, which is painted grey with four white panels, is unusual both for its height and the four doors, with the twin top panels taller than those underneath. This panel arrangement repeats the design of the lightstation’s door cases. Further research may reveal more about its manufacture. It is not known whether it is attached to the wall or movable; if attached it is considered to be a fixture and included in the Victorian Heritage Register listing for the lightstation (VHR H1773). Other similar cabinets which have been constructed to fit the curved wall of a lighthouse survive at Cape Schanck, varnished wood benchtop, 2‐door cabinet with brass door knob, no drawers); Point Hicks, benchtop, 2‐door, painted green with silver doors, no drawers) and Gabo Island bench top, 2‐door, no drawers, green paint removed to reveal cedar timber), and Cape Nelson, benchtop, 2‐door, 2‐drawer, partially varnished). Cape Nelson’s tall cupboard with curved shelves and back profile is unusual among the lighthouse furnishings. The cabinet is a unique, original feature of the lighthouse and has first level contributory significance for its historic values and provenance.The tall, two‐door cupboard with curved shelves is without a back and has curved shelving. Painted grey with four white panels, on the four doors, with the twin top panels taller than those underneath.

Commonwealth government issue. This nest of tables are currently in use by the lighthouse staff.The set of three tables of descending size are designed in the same distinctive style as the bookcases and share the same wood type and finish (GILS 0012.2). Information on the underside of the tables indicates they were purchased by the Commonwealth through the Department of Transport for the CLS. The design bears the stylistic marks of the easily recognisable furnishings produced by the Kalmar firm, Sydney. Steven Kalmar (1909-1989), who migrated to Australia in 1939 and opened his own interiors business in 1949, played a significant role in popularising modernist design concepts in Australia drawing his ideas from Scandinavian and American trends. Born in Hungary, he trained as an architect and his contemporary affordable furnishings were especially suitable for the open-plan houses built in Australia’s new post-war suburbs. He closed the retail side of this in 1957 and concentrated on commissions, some for large-scale orders. One of these bulk orders came from the Commonwealth Government sometime between 1957 and the early 1970s, with several examples of light, compact and functional domestic furnishings supplied to lightstations in Victoria. Because the order was placed by the CLS, it is possible that Kalmar furnishings were also provided to lightstations in other states. Additional examples at Gabo Island include three bedside tables (GILS 0042.2 & 0076.10), chest of drawers (GILS 0077) and two bookcases (GILS 0012.2), with the backs of at least two of the furnishings bearing the Kalmar label. Kalmar furnishings in the other Victorian lightstations investigated by this study include bookcases at Cape Otway, Cape Nelson (3 examples) and Point Hicks (2 examples); two bedside tables at Cape Otway, and a long coffee table at Wilsons Promontory. The set of tables has first level contributory significance for their clear provenance, completeness and association with Steven Kalmar whose functional designs introduced modern, low cost furnishings to a number of Australia’s lightstations.Nest of three Scandinavian style tables, solid wood. Curved U shaped legs, one bar at base of table.Underside of GILS007.3:"C of A / D.O.T 1444248" (Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Transport.) •All tables have "16" on underside.

The five types of nails include a stamped steel nail made for wooden flooring; four copper nails used for boat building found at various locations on the island; two steel nails removed from the lantern room door during restoration in 2002 which possibly came with the Chance Bros. lantern room kit delivered in 1862; three galvanised steel nails used to pin the railway track to sleepers and decking on the jetty (the rail track carried a small trolley for unloading stores from supply ships); and a square copper nail found on the rocky shore on Tullaberga Island close to the location of the Monumental City wreck of 1853. The huge American steamer, Monumental City, was wrecked on 15 May 1853. Built in 1850, the ship was the first screw-propulsion steamer to cross the Pacific and was heading back to Sydney after dropping off Californians heading for the Victorian goldfields. Thirty-seven lives were lost, including the owner of the ship, Peter Strobel. A medal was awarded by Sydney residents to Charles Plummer who swam ashore with a line from the wreck. The tragedy renewed the urgency for a lighthouse on Gabo Island, and in 1862 when this was achieved an obelisk was erected as a memorial to those who perished. That year, Victorian PWD architect and designer of the lightstation buildings, Charles Maplestone, gave the following instructions: ‘You may remove the remains of the poor unfortunate shipwrecked of the Monumental City to the site on Gabo you propose but take scrupulous care to collect all the remains and inter them decently under the monument. Pray save any relics’.246 Heritage Victoria has 39 artefacts listed under the Historic Shipwrecks Act (S473) with a clear provenance to the Monumental City. While the copper nail has no documented provenance, it still has contributory significance as part of a diverse assemblage of relics that help to interpret the history of the Gabo Island Lightstation and the numerous shipwrecks that have occurred in its vicinity since the mid nineteenth century..1 Steel nail - flat. Stamped. This type of nail was used for secret nailing of flooring. Source of this nail is unknown. .2 Copper nails. This type of nail was used for boat building. Found at various locations around island. .3 Steel nails. Extracted from lantern room door during restoration 2002. .4 Galvanised steel nails. Used to pin railway track to timber sleepers and decking on jetty. Rail track carried a small trolley used during the unloading of stores from supply ships. .5. Copper nail square. This nail was found on the rocky shore line on Tullaberga Island close to the location of the wreck of the "Monumental City" wrecked May 1853. Nail found in June 2000.

The two-door nineteenth century cabinet was purpose built with a curved back to fit the proportions of the lantern room interior and is likely to date from 1888-89 when the new lighthouse was fitted out and provided with furnishings and fixtures. The Public Works Department provided a range of lightstation furnishings including office desks and cabinets, and domestic settings for keepers’ quarters, with nineteenth century items often stamped with a crown motif and the PWD monogram. The curved cabinets installed in lantern rooms however do not appear to display this small feature. The cabinet needed to be custom made to fit the proportions of the room, and for this reason it was possibly made on site or perhaps even supplied by Chance Bros as part of the entire lantern room installation. The company usually provided timber panelling for their lantern room interiors (since removed from Point Hicks), and a cabinet may have been included in the assemblage. It may not have originally been painted; today doors area grey/silver colour and the rest of the cabinet is emerald green. It is not known whether it is freestanding or fixed to the wall. A similar cabinet with panelled doors remains in the Gabo Island lighthouse and evidence of green paint on the wood indicates that the cabinet frame was also formerly painted green but later stripped to reveal the wood finish. The Cape Nelson lantern room has a curved cabinet with the same door type but has a drawer above each door. It too was formerly painted emerald green before it was stripped back to its present wood finish. Cape Schanck’s lantern room cabinet is unique for its curved front as well as curved back, and it stands on a skirting. The two doors are in the same style, although they open with a brass knob. Further research into these distinctive cabinets may resolve the interesting question of their construction. The Point Hicks cabinet is a unique, original feature of the lighthouse lantern room and has first level contributory significance for its historic values and provenance. The Point Hicks cabinet has two doors, each framed and beaded around a central panel, and there is a simple door knob. The back is curved and the front is straight and the doors are painted a grey/silver colour and the rest of the cabinet is emerald green.

Was the stand for a Chance Brothers air & oil containers fitted with pump handle & pressure gauges.This type of installation was once common and relied on the lightkeeper having to pressurise the cylinders manually at regular intervals throughout the hours of darkness. The oil was fed under pressure to the burner mantle. It is all that remains of an air and kerosene oil tank installation, with each rounded side formerly supporting a heavy iron tank. The containers would have been fitted with a pump handle and pressure gauges. An intact assemblage is displayed in the AMSA offices, Canberra with a text that explains ‘This type of installation was once common and relied on the lightkeeper having to pressurise the cylinders manually at regular intervals throughout the hours of darkness’.The system involved vaporising kerosene under pressure and mixing it with air and then burning the vapour to heat an incandescent mantle. The use of kerosene as a fuel to light the lantern became the most common system of illumination from the 1860s after the oil industry in the United States began to develop. The kerosene vapour burner was created in 1901 by British inventor Arthur Kitson (1859-1937) and perfected by Chance Bros for burning a more intense light in their renowned lenses. The lamp had to be watched throughout the night in case a mantle broke, and the tanks needed to be maintained by hand-pumping each hour or so. The Point Hicks lantern was initially lit by a six-wick Trinity house kerosene burner. This was replaced by the more efficient and brighter 55mm vaporised kerosene mantle burner in 1905, and the tank stand is probably original to this apparatus. Electricity eventually replaced kerosene at Point Hicks in 1964 making the tank installation obsolete, and the last kerosene system in an Australian lighthouse was replaced in 1985. Gabo Island Lightstation has a pair of tanks that are not attached to the optical system and are no longer in the lighthouse. They are also missing the pressure gauges that were formerly attached to the top of each cylinder. An intact tank assemblage is displayed at the Cape Schanck Lighthouse Museum it is detached and not original to the lighthouse. Although corroded, the remnant Point Hicks tank stand has first level contributory importance to the lightstation. It is significant for its provenance and historical value as part of the Chance Bros vaporised kerosene burner introduced in 1905 to intensify the light and improve the efficiency of the system. The rusted iron stand rests on four short legs and is shaped like a pair of spectacles.

The cabinet has a curved back and would have been custom‐built to fit the dimensions of the lantern room interior. It is likely to date from when the lighthouse was built in 1884 and may have been among the items delivered by the government steamer dispatch early in March which included ‘the lantern and other fittings for the Cape Nelson Lighthouse’. The Public Works Department provided a range of lightstation furnishings including office desks and cabinets, and domestic settings for keepers’ quarters, with nineteenth century items often stamped with a crown motif and the PWD monogram however the curved cupboards installed in Victoria’s lighthouse lantern rooms do not appear to display this small feature. Further research may reveal more about their manufacture and it is tempting to think that they were perhaps even supplied by Chance Bros as part of the entire lantern room installation. The company usually provided the timber battens for the lantern room paneling, and a cabinet may have been included in the assemblage. Another possibility is that the specially designed cabinet was made on site by carpenters along with other fittings. It is not known whether it is attached to the wall or movable; if attached it is considered to be a fixture and included in the Victorian Heritage Register listing for the lightstation (VHR H1773). Its location, when identified in the CMP of April 1995, was on the ‘lower lantern level’, where there was also a ‘timber step ladder’ (Argus, 6 March 1884, p6. nineteenth or early twentieth century), ‘timber framed lighthouse specification’, ‘timber framed chart’ and telephone .Residue on the furnishing indicates that it was formerly painted green, the colour of some of the other fixtures in the room, such as the original cast iron ladder. It is now partially varnished and the corner to the top’s edging on the right side has been cut off. The lighthouse also has a large curved back, two‐door cupboard. Other similar cabinets with curved backs survive at Cape Schanck, varnished wood cabinet with brass door knob, no drawers; Point Hicks, painted green with silver doors, no drawers and Gabo Island, bench top, 2‐door, no drawers, green paint removed to reveal cedar timber). Cape Nelson’s curved cabinet is unique among these examples for having drawers. The cabinet is a unique, original feature of the lantern room and has first level contributory significance for its historic values and provenance.The bench top cupboard has two drawers, each above a door, and each door is framed and beveled around a central panel. The cabinet has a curved back.

The fire screen was part of the original furnishings of the Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters in Merri Street, Warrnambool. It was made by Lighthouse Keeper, Thomas Hope. Thomas served two terms as an assistant lighthouse keeper in Warrnambool. His first term was from 1905 to 1907. He later returned from 1910 to 1913, when he was appointed as Keeper five months after the untimely death of his predecessor Peter Quinn. Woodworking was one of Thomas Hope’s hobbies, and the three-panel fire screen he made as a lighthouse keeper is now in the Flagstaff collection and is displayed in the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage. Thomas Hope 1857 - 1928 Thomas James Hope was born in Camden, Surrey, England in 1857. His father, also called Thomas, was reputed to be a member of the Royal Family, and Thomas Hope Junior his illegitimate son. Thomas was subsequently brought up on the estate of the Earl of Hopetoun in Somerset and it was thought that Thomas was the Earl’s grandson. Against the wishes of those in charge of Thomas, he joined the navy at an early age, seeing much of the world until he settled in New Zealand at the age of twenty-four. After some years in New Zealand, he came to Australia to live. One of the jobs Thomas Hope had prior to becoming an assistant lighthouse keeper in 1896 was as a cook in the Lunatic Asylum at Sunbury, Victoria. He served as an assistant keeper at Shortlands Bluff, Gabo Island, Split Point and Warrnambool, retiring in 1918. He bought a house in Nicholson St, Warrnambool and died in March 1928. He is buried in the Warrnambool cemetery. Thomas Hope is recorded in family history as being of short stature and, not surprisingly given his alleged aristocratic connections, possessed a beautiful speaking voice. He and his wife Elizabeth nee Waters, whom he married in New Zealand, had six children (Thomas, killed in World War One), Ellen (Nell), Nora (who was married at the Warrnambool lighthouse keepers cottage), William (who died in Warrnambool), Marion and Alan. Joseph Hoover (Dec 29, 1830, to Aug 7, 1913) Joseph Hoover, the printer of the pictures on the screen, was born in Baltimore, of Swiss-German heritage. He was trained as an architectural woodturner. In 1856 Hoover moved to Philadelphia and began producing elaborate wooden frames in his wood-turning and framing business. By 1865 Hoover had started to produce popular prints for publishers and artists, which included noted Philadelphia artist James F. Queen. In the 1880s Hoover set up a complete plant specialising in chromatography, the process of producing colour prints from lithographic plates. The coloured prints he produced were affordable to business and private customers. In 1893 his son Henry L., a trained lithographer, joined the company as overseer and it was called J. Hoover & Son. It became one of the largest in America by the turn of the century. Hoover won a medal for Excellence for his Chromolithographs of James Queen’s works. In 1904 Joseph’s other son, Joseph W, joined the business as a partner and the company was called Jos. Hoover & Sons. Hoover died of a heart attack in 1913. He was survived by his wife and six children: two sons who were also his business partners, and four daughters. The firm continued in production until around 1985. Hoover’s prints included scenes, still life and landscapes of America and other locations. They were sold in America and overseas to countries including Canada, Germany, Mexico and England. The three-panelled screen in the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage was made by the Assistant Lighthouse Keeper, Thomas Hope during one of his two terms at the Lighthouse Keepers' Quarters. It is the only object in the collection known to be connected to Hope. The Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage is part of the Lady Bay Lighthouse Complex, which is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register for being of historical, scientific (technological) and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.Fire screen comprising three black wood framed panels hinged together. Each panel contains a glass-encased print depicting a rural landscape. Ornate stencil cut wood edging and quilt-inspired parquetry sits above each panel. The central panel is taller than those either side. Screen is lined in black-painted cardboard.Printed at the base of each of the three prints “COPYRIGHT 1896 BY J. HOOVER & SON, PHILAD’’A.”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, firescreen, thomas hope junior, ellen (nell) hope, nora hope, william hope, marion hope, alan hope, jos. hoover & sons of philadelphia, lighthouse keeper, assistant lighthouse keeper, carved screen, merri street, lighthouse keeper's cottage, lighthouse residence, lighthouse, wood carving, lighthouse complex, lady bay lighthouse, fire screen

Each of the five telephones is attached to a timber, wall‐mounted box. They are original to the precinct buildings and date from the early twentieth century. Located in the lighthouse lantern room, the former head keeper’s quarters, the former assistants’ quarters, and the buildings known today as the generator shed and the café, they formed an intercom system that facilitated communication between the lightstation buildings.Wall‐mounted Bakelite telephones with crank handles can be found at all six light stations, however Gabo Island has the only other example of a timber‐mounted phone. Its design is slightly different for incorporating an inclined surface for jotting down notes. As fixtures, the telephones are considered to be part of the building fabric and included in the Victorian Heritage Register listing for the Cape Nelson Lightstation (H1773; 18 February 1999). They are historically significant for their historical and technical values as part of the early communications system used at the lightstation.Five similar intercom system telephones. All are wall mounted timber boxes with Bakelite black hand sets and black cords. The five phones each have two bells at the top of the box and a crank handle at the side. Three phones have brass bells, two have black metal bells. All phones have instructions on the front either in a frame or glued to the timber."C of A" and "PMG" Written instructions on how to use the phones are printed on paper fixed to the front of the telephones. "TO CALL ....../ TO ANSWER...../ WHEN FINISHED....."

Government issue desk. Manufactured (perhaps 1970s)It has second level contributory significance as a furnishing that has remained at the lightstation to demonstrate its more recent working operations.Wooden desk with metal frame. Dark grey vinyl top, three drawers on left-hand sde with metal handles. Second drawer has filing inserts.Right-hand front leg on black sticker. "C. of A. / D.O.T. 147110"

Cupboard is original to Lighthouse. This nineteenth century cedar furnishing has two doors and one internal shelf. It remains in the lighthouse although its original location was probably the lantern room, where similar surviving cabinets are more typically found. It was purpose built for the lighthouse with a curved back to fit the proportions of the tower interior with the wood reputed to have originated from a partition in the assistant lightkeepers’ houses, and the cupboard doors possibly crafted at a different time. Curved cabinets similar to this example can be found at three other early lighthouses investigated by this study. It is possible that these specially designed cabinets were included in the standard complement of furnishings provided to the colony’s lightstations by the Victorian Public Works Department. Other similar cabinets with curved backs remain in the Point Hicks Lighthouse and at Cape Nelson (two examples )and Cape Schanck, which has a curved front as well as back .The Gabo Island cabinet has first level contributory significance for its historic value, uniqueness, provenance to the lightstation and clear association with the functions of the lighthouse lantern room.Two door wooden (cedar) cabinet. One internal shelf, panelled, curved back. Doors are attached. Frame has been stripped, doors are unpainted.

This table was found in the shed and restored in the 1990's by lightstation staff. The late nineteenth century cedar table has turned legs, a front drawer with brass knob pull (this may not be original). The wood has lost its original finish. Despite this, it has first level contributory significance for its historic value as an original furnishing that has remained at the lightstation since the nineteenth century.It has first level contributory significance for its historic value as an original furnishing that has remained at the lightstation since the nineteenth century.Australian cedar table with turned legs and front drawer with brass keyhole and wooden knob. Unpainted.