The items include a wooden ruler, masonite and metal clipboard, metal stapler and desk calendar holder made of metal, date from the 1970s. Three clear glass ink bottles and a black Bakelite fountain pen with screw on top are a little earlier in date, and all appear to have a reliable provenance to the lightstation. They have second level significance as small items of office equipment used in the day-to-day running of the lightstation. Maintaining the lightstation – equipment (themes 2, 3, 5) This sub-collection of workplace objects under the main theme of ‘Running the Lightstation’, includes the equipment used for and maintaining the lightstation.

All have second level contributory significance for the insights they provide into the types of appliances needed to keep the lightstation running and functioning as a navigation aid.

Metal clipboard, wooden ruler, metal stapler metal calendar /date holder.

The catalogue includes twenty-one diverse types of bottles ranging from beer, soft drink and chutney bottles to bottles designed to hold perfume, medicines and poisons. They appear to range in date from the nineteenth to c.mid-twentieth centuries and represent various types of mass-produced consumer goods that were commonly available at the time. The five different types of bottles included in 0156.5 are made of clear glass with tapered necks and narrow openings to facilitate pouring. One can be positively identified as an imported mineral soda water/soft drink bottle because of the marble stopper in the neck and thickness of the glass. The globe-stopper bottle, also known as a ‘Codd’ bottle, was invented by English engineer, Hiram Codd in 1873 for holding gaseous soft drinks. The thick glass could withstand the pressure of the contents as well as repeated bottling by manufacturers. The bottles were probably used by former lightkeeper households. and tapered, narrow necks. The older ‘porter’ has a slightly bulbous neck. The bottles were probably used by former lightkeeper residents.

Five glass bottles. Four are clear glass and one has coloured to green.

The fragments appear to be associated with three stoneware vessels, with two at least dating from the nineteenth century. One of the vessels is a late-nineteenth century stoneware ale or stout bottle which survives largely intact except for the base which is broken into three pieces and held together by a band wrapped around the bottle. The upper part of the bottle has a light brown glaze, and interestingly the pale stoneware body is discoloured by ash. The other items in this sub-set; two ceramic fragments from another unidentified vessel and a brown glazed short neck from a third (perhaps an ink bottle), are also fire damaged. -

Ceramic Bottle & fragments, ceramic, fire damaged.

Used by lightkeeping families. The twenty shards of crockery represent tableware from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The pieces were recovered from a rubbish dump in the grounds used by previous lightstation residents. They include blue and white transfer-printed tableware in the ubiquitous ‘Willow’ pattern as well as floral designs with distinctively British flowers, both of which remained in constant production by all the major Staffordshire companies and were hugely popular with the Australian market. Other pieces in the collection include part of a plate with a distinctive red and yellow border, a small Chinoiserie jug probably dating from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, and fragments of heavier, more utilitarian white ceramic ware. A few of the shards are printed with trademarks or other insignia, and closer examination of these marks as well as the patterns should be able to yield information on their date and manufacturer. Most if not all the fragments are from affordable, everyday wares that were common in lower income homes. Numerous ceramic fragments are also held in the Cape Otway Lightstation collection.

Domestic crockery fragments x 20. Some have been burnt.

Used by RAAF personell in accommodation quarters 1942 -1946. WWII wartime objects – living in the RAAF camp . They provide evidence of the contents of the RAAF barracks and recreation hut erected in 1942 and occupied until 1945. Some of the items such as cutlery, a wood heater/stove, domestic radio (remnants) were used in daily life by servicemen. Spoons x 3 (WPLS 0101.3; likely provenance); spoon and knife (0148.2 likely provenance)The two metal small spoons, two large spoons and knife without its handle are known to have been used by WWII RAAF or navy personnel in their accommodation quarters 1942-1945.

The items, if original to the site, have second level contributory significance for the evidence they provide of the WWII buildings and their use between 1942 and 1945.

Metal spoon and a serrated edged knife without a handle. Both items have some corrosion.

Used on military uniforms 1942 - 1946.

Two small metal buttons. One is larger.

Used as a junction box for metal conduit in RAAF power house.

This technical item has second level significance because their use is likely to be directly linked to WWII communications activity at the lightstation:

Round metal piece with protrusions and with "12 VOLT / CHARGING" stamped on a metal plate on the front.

"12 VOLT / CHARGING"

Used on radio aerial installation during the period that the RAAF were based at the Lightstation. 1942 - 1946

This technical item has second level significance because it's use is likely to be directly linked to WWII communications activity at the lightstation:

Small brown glazed ceramic insulator. The shape is similar to a door knob.

Type used by RAAF Radar station (RS 14) for backup communications 1942 - 1946. This one is an AT5 radio aerial coupling unit with black face and dials and switches. They functioned as a set and were manufactured in 1938 at the Ashfield, Sydney workshop of AWA (Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Ltd, later AWA Ltd), Australia’s largest electronics manufacturer and broadcaster. They are rare outside Australia as they were seldom exported to other air forces, and remained in service until the late 1950s.202 An AT5 transmitter and AT5 coupling unit are held in Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.203 The three units in the Wilsons Promontory Museum were deployed by the RAAF in WWII and represent the types of communications equipment used at the 14 Radar Station, Wilsons Promontory. It is not known, however if these particular examples were used at the lightstation and are part of the same set. They have interpretive relevance to the collection, but their significance to the lightstation is dependent on whether they have a direct historical association with the radar station that operated there.

The units will have first level contributory significance if it is confirmed they were used at the Wilsons Promontory Radar Station.

radio aerial coupling unit grey metal face with multiple dials & switches

Type used by RAAF Radar station Wilsons Prom (RS 14) for backup communications 1942 - 1946. This is an AR8 radio receiver with a brown face and various dials and switches; They functioned as a set and were manufactured in 1938 at the Ashfield, Sydney workshop of AWA (Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Ltd, later AWA Ltd), Australia’s largest electronics manufacturer and broadcaster. They are rare outside Australia as they were seldom exported to other air forces, and remained in service until the late 1950s.202 An AT5 transmitter and AT5 coupling unit are held in Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.203 The three units in the Wilsons Promontory Museum were deployed by the RAAF in WWII and represent the types of communications equipment used at the 14 Radar Station, Wilsons Promontory. It is not known, however if these particular examples were used at the lightstation and are part of the same set. They have interpretive relevance to the collection, but their significance to the lightstation is dependent on whether they have a direct historical association with the radar station that operated there. The units will have first level contributory significance if it is confirmed they were used at the Wilsons Promontory Radar Station.

The units will have first level contributory significance if it is confirmed they were used at the Wilsons Promontory Radar Station.

Radio tuning unit, brown metal face with multiple dials & switches.

Yes

Type used by RAAF Radar station at Wilsons Promontory Lightstation (RS 14) for backup communications 1942 - 1946. This is an AT5 MF/HF 50 watts radio transmitter with black face and multiple dials and switches; There is also an AR8 radio receiver with a brown face and various dials and switches; and an AT5 radio aerial coupling unit with black face and dials and switches in the WP collection. They functioned as a set and were manufactured in 1938 at the Ashfield, Sydney workshop of AWA (Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Ltd, later AWA Ltd), Australia’s largest electronics manufacturer and broadcaster. They are rare outside Australia as they were seldom exported to other air forces, and remained in service until the late 1950s. An AT5 transmitter and AT5 coupling unit are held in Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.The three units in the Wilsons Promontory Museum were deployed by the RAAF in WWII and represent the types of communications equipment used at the 14 Radar Station, Wilsons Promontory. It is not known, however if these particular examples were used at the lightstation and are part of the same set. They have interpretive relevance to the collection, but their significance to the lightstation is dependent on whether they have a direct historical association with the radar station that operated there.

The units will have first level contributory significance if it is confirmed they were used at the Wilsons Promontory Radar Station.

Radio receiver, grey metal face with multiple dials & switches

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.

This Phillips FM 880 radio telephone was used by lightkeepers between 1973 and 2005 for communication with the meteorological bureau.

This relatively large device is in a white enamel metal cabinet and has a number of dials and switches and instructions. It has six chrome handles. There are 'decommissioned' labels on the face.

"Phillips FM 880 ..."

The relatively large battery charger is in a metal cabinet that has dials and switches on the face. It was used by the PMG to charge radio telephone batteries between the 1960s and 1990s. Cape Schanck Lightstation also has a battery charger that is part of a set of items associated with the electric operation of the lighthouse

Meets first level threshold.

Battery charger encased in a large metal cabinet, with black dials, with white faces & switches on either side of the front of the cabinet. Makers label as bottom of cabinet. Some staining.

" Constant Potential Rectifier....."

The collection includes a small number of cast iron kitchen range components which appear to originate from more than one fuel-burning cooker. They are possibly relics from the two nineteenth century kitchens destroyed in the 1951 bushfire or bits from abandoned obsolete cookers. There are two oven doors, both with different types of hinges and handles discernible despite their badly corroded condition. One door is rectangular with a raised edging and a handle in the shape of a fist gripping a rod; the other door has a slightly curved top and is also framed and retains its strap hinges and central lock/handle.

Door from a fuel burning domestic oven. It has a slightly curved top, is framed and retains its strap hinges and central lock/handle

Used as display in AMSA workshop foyer, Moorabbin, Vic. Nautical charts x 2 , The framed and glazed chart identifies strategic points in the notorious Bass Strait passage, which in the nineteenth century was known as the ‘Eye of the Needle’. It covers the whole of Tasmania, Bass Strait and the islands, and the lower part of Victoria with its coastline between Cape Otway and Gabo Island. The chart has an electric cord connecting it to a wall switch which enables a series of small lights to flash on strategic geographical locations.. While it is not known if it is original to Wilsons Promontory, it certainly elates to its location. A similar chart at Cape Otway shows less of Tasmania and is not electrified. Gabo Island Lightstation has two large framed charts; one is the same as the Wilsons Promontory example but without the lights and the other is entirely different, focussing on the east coast between Point Hicks and Montague Island.

The Wilsons Promontory chart is unique as an illuminated version of the other charts and has first level significance if its provenance to the lightstation can be confirmed.

The framed and glazed chart has an electric cord connecting it to a wall switch which enables a series of small lights to flash on strategic geographical locations.

Yes

It has been suggested that it is possibly part of the clockwork mechanism of the third order Fresnel lens, which was a component of the Chance Brothers lens system introduced to the lighthouse when the optics were upgraded in 1913, and subsequently removed in 1975. Further research may confirm its association with the lens and increase its heritage importance.

The well-made brass fitting has second level significance as a possible former component of the clockwork mechanism manufactured by Chance Brothers in c.1912.

Brass, round, knurled fitting.One end of the fitting has a cylindrical knob end with a smooth surface; the other has a broader cylindrical knob with a knurled surface to allow for gripping and turning.

The iron hook dates to the 1860s and was used for attaching a load to a horse harness.

Meets second level threshold.

Iron hook

The metal ladle was made by a lightkeeper in the 1980s for melting lead to make sinkers.

Handmade metal ladel.

Part of secondary water pump from a Southern Cross engine which was in the pump shed north of the lightstation.

Fly wheel iron, hole in the middle.

Lid for ship's tanks used for early domestic water storage (1860's) at the lightstation The water tank and lid are probably from the same unit that was used for transporting drinking water or perishable dry goods on ships. The unit comprised a large, riveted metal tank which was fitted with a heavy cast iron round lid to form a hermetically sealed container. It had a rubber sealing ring ‘which was screwed tight with the aid of lugs cast into the lid and wedges cast into the rim of the loading hole’. A raised iron rod welded across the outer face of many lids allowed for screwing the lid tight. Ship tanks were invented in1808 by notable engineer, Richard Trevithick and his associate John Dickinson. Their patent obtained the same year described the tank’s superior cubic shape that allowed it to fit squarely as a container in ships and thus use space efficiently, while its metal fabric preserved and secured its contents, whether liquid or solid, from damage. The containers revolutionised the movement of goods by ship and made wooden casks redundant. Research by Michael Pearson has determined that they were carried on passages to Australia from at least the 1830s, conveying ships’ victuals and water storage as well as general goods heading for the colonies, and by the 1870s they were in common use. Once in the colonies, the tanks were often recycled and adapted for many resourceful uses such as water tanks, packing cases, dog kennels, oil containers and food stores and this invariably led to the separation of the lid and tank. Raised lettering on the lids indicates that nearly all of the ship tanks transported to Australia came from London manufacturers, and it was usual also for the brand name to feature as a stencil on the associated square tank but in most cases this eventually wore off. It is not known if the Wilsons Promontory tank retains its stencil, and the heavy lid will need to be turned over to reveal its manufacturer’s name. How it came to the lightstation is also not known, but it was either brought to the site as a recycled tank or salvaged from a shipwreck. Pearson writes that Ship tanks show up at a wide range of sites, many of them isolated like lighthouses. They were, I think, usually taken there for the purposes they filled, usually water storage, as they were readily available, relatively light to transport, and probably very cheap to buy as second‐hand goods containers. In rural areas they may have been scavenged for their new uses from local stores, to whom goods were delivered in them. Recycled to serve as a water tank, the Wilsons Promontory tank is the last surviving example of several that were used at the site to hold water for domestic consumption. The tank has had its lid removed and a tap fitted to the one of the sides. It stands on concrete blocks next to a building to receive water running off the roof via a metal pipe. Wilsons Promontory is the only lightstation managed by Parks Victoria with a tank container, although Cape Otway and Point Hicks have lids. Parks Victoria has identified four other lids which include two at Point Hicks, one manufactured by Lancaster and Co. the other by Bellamy. Cape Otway also has two, one unidentified and the other by the Bow Tank Works, East London, which produced tanks between 1910 and 1930. Pearson notes that ‘surviving lids are far less numerous than the tanks themselves, presumably because the uses to which the tanks were put did not require the lid to be retained’.

The tank and lid, which are possibly part of the same unit, have first level contributory significance for their historic values and rarity.

Round ship's tanks lid, iron.

They include various iron spanners of different size which were used on vehicle maintenance at the lightstation, (landrover and Toyota)

Different sizes of different spanners in a bag with a zip.

The three metal pulley wheels, two larger one smaller, were possibly used in the mechanism associated with the operation of the clockwork weights that helped to turn the light in the lantern room between 1913 and 1975.

If this information is confirmed, the wheels have first level contributory significance for the insights they provide into the technology and operations of a late nineteenth/early twentieth century lighthouse.

Three pulley wheels, two larger one smaller.

The power board, which was the main power board for the lightstation between 1975 and 2007, retains a number of ceramic fuse parts and a wooden reel with fuse wire. The grey metal door has a plastic switch and a small metal plate is inscribed with ‘Custom styles by Thomson and Mackenzie’.

Power board with ceramic fuse parts. Also wooden reel with fuse wire.

‘Custom styles by Thomson and Mackenzie’.

The rusted metal machine part has an inscription discernible on an attached plate. It is part of the hydraulic system used in the East landing crane between 1971 and 1978.

Meets second level threshold.

Rusted metal machine part with plate with inscription.

Pulleys were used to lift goods to and from boats and at other sites at the lightstation where hauling was undertaken. Historical images and text panels in the Wilsons Promontory Museum attest to the detailed logistics that needed to be exercised in lifting and transporting goods once they had arrived by boat at the Eastern Landing. Cranes and a flying fox were employed in the nineteenth century and updated versions of this equipment served well into the twentieth century. The first cranes to be employed at the site were built just after December 1857, when tenders were called to construct two cranes prior to the commencement of building the lightstation.180 The first boat landing at the promontory was built on the west side of the lighthouse, which the architect, Charles Maplestone sketched in June 1859, the same month that he announced the completion of the lighthouse.His drawing shows one of the cranes as a large structure built for heavy duty lifting. Soon the east landing became the preferred place for delivering stores, but as late as 1993 a crane, timber structures and disused heavy iron machinery remained at the old site.

Large iron pulley with loop at one end and hook at the other, rusted.

Pulleys were used to lift goods to and from boats and at other sites at the lightstation where hauling was undertaken. Historical images and text panels in the Wilsons Promontory Museum attest to the detailed logistics that needed to be exercised in lifting and transporting goods once they had arrived by boat at the Eastern Landing. Cranes and a flying fox were employed in the nineteenth century and updated versions of this equipment served well into the twentieth century. The first cranes to be employed at the site were built just after December 1857, when tenders were called to construct two cranes prior to the commencement of building the lightstation.The first boat landing at the promontory was built on the west side of the lighthouse, which the architect, Charles Maplestone sketched in June 1859, the same month that he announced the completion of the lighthouse. His drawing shows one of the cranes as a large structure built for heavy duty lifting. Soon the east landing became the preferred place for delivering stores, but as late as 1993 a crane, timber structures and disused heavy iron machinery remained at the old site.

Large rusted iron pulley, large loop at one end and smaller loop at the other. No hook.(Sheave Block)

The two wooden oars were formerly painted white. They were used on lightstation boats and are now displayed on the wall of Room 2 which is located next to the light tower. Numerous images of the lightstation show rowing boats either on stand‐by on land or in the sea performing duties in the surrounding sea and at the East Landing. The wooden boat rudder with brass and other metal fittings was also formerly painted white and is possibly from the same boat that used the oars.

Meets second level threshold.

Two long wooden oars, Residue of white paint. Possibly made of Australian hardwood. They were used on lightstation boats.

The grey painted heavy wooden, homemade box has a freehand inscription in black on outside, which reads ‘LEVINGS To MAAT IS’. The writing refers to Alan and Marlene Levings, who began their twenty-two year career in lightkeeping with a posting to Tasman Island, off Port Arthur, in the 1960s. After four years they moved to Maatsukyer Island off south-west Tasmania, Australia’s southern-most lightstation, followed by postings to South Bruny, Eddystone Point and Wilsons Promontory. The robust box journeyed with the Levings through their postings to five lightstations and came to rest at Wilsons Promontory when Alan retired. It is not known whether the box was used in an office or domestic context. The movement of people and objects is a significant and unique theme that runs through the history of Australia’s lightstations. This historical process relates Victoria to the much bigger story of Australia’s network of lightstations. Alan Levings has been described as an extremely interesting character and artist. When Levings was a lightkeeper at Wilson’s Promontory, delivery of goods was by boat, then off the boat by a winch and onto the back of a truck. For this reason, packing boxes in earlier years had to be extremely robust. Today, anything that is not carried into Wilson’s Promontory Lightstation by foot, comes by helicopter, eradicating the need for heavy packing boxes such as Levings’.

This humble box has first level contributory significance for its reliable provenance which traces its journey through five lightstations; for its association with a former lightkeeping family; and for contributing to an understanding of the pattern of lightstation life.

Wooden box, light blue/grey painted. Made of horizontal pieces of timber with some tin reinforcment on the sides. Writing in black on side of box.

On side of box in freehand,"LEVINGS To MAAT IS"

As quoted from Wikipedia, ‘An anvil is a block with a hard surface on which another object is, struck. The block is as massive as it is practical, because the higher the inertia of the anvil, the more efficiently it causes the energy of the striking tool to be transferred to the work piece’. The lightstation’s anvil is a red-painted iron block with a conical beak or horn at one end that was used for hammering curved pieces of metal. It would have stood on a heavy free-standing pedestal, such as a large tree stump, to allow complete access to the item being hammered. Some anvils display the manufacturer’s name in the metal on the side, but this is not the case here, and its age, although unknown appears to be quite old, perhaps c.1900. It appears to have had a lot of use, and although no record of this survives, it is presumed that a forge operated on site for hammering, cutting, shaping and repairing tools such as bolts, nails, hooks, chain segments, pulley blocks, hinges, crow bars, picks, chisels, horseshoes and harness hardware. A hames hook (which forms part of the collar worn by a draught horse) survives at the lightstation as do many other heavy metal tools and pieces of equipment. The anvil is an example of the necessary resourcefulness and self sufficiency practiced by lightkeepers working and living in a remotely located workplace and home, and many of the iron items in the collection may have been repaired or even made on its working surface. As a lightstation manager Chris Richter used the anvil to manufacture pulley blocks for sash windows, repair brass door hinges & sharpen cold chisels, crowbars and picks and other lightkeepers have used this anvil for many fabricating jobs such as manufacturing ducting for the generator room ventilation system."The lightship only came in every three months with supplies and there would have been repairs to do between visits from a blacksmith - who would have had to travel on the ship. Also, the ship was only anchored in the bay long enough to unload supplies and collect and deliver lightkeeping staff – probably not enough time to get much smithy work done – especially if the weather packed it in and the ship had to depart. Lightkeepers in our time had to be self sufficient, resourceful and innovative and I imagine that would have been the case in the past."

It has second level contributory significance.

Red painted blacksmith's anvil.