CAPE BORDA LIGHTHOUSE & COTTAGE: Kangaroo Lsland

Its strange block construction stands out for kilometres to sea, a beacon to shipping as it approached the treacherous northern and western coats of Kangaroo Island. But this slab of painted limestone is also a monument to isolation and hardship. When first built in 1858, it was surely one of the most remote places on the map.

When you watch the weather reports on the evening news, spare a thought for Dan Grieve. In the middle of the day he's out here in the courtyard taking down his observations. Day and night the Weather Bureau is constantly updated in a task as relentless as the rotation of the Flinders Light here at Cape Borda, but Dan wouldn't have it any other way. There's an ocean out there to keep watch over and an ocean of stories about the people who've lived here.

"Lighthouses are famous for a number of things, and one of them is for people not getting on. There were famous disputes here over the years, a lot of insubordination. Often keepers refusing to haul supplies, cryptic entries in the logs like-"second keeper came to my house and called me everything but a gentleman"

"Keepers were dismissed for drunkenness. There's one early entry, 'headkeepers wife drunk and cannot be approached', so they certainly hit the grog and I don't think that helped relationships much either".

It was near here that the lighthouse supplies and new keepers were brought to the island. Back in the late 1850's this landing with its horse-drawn rail cart was the only access point to this part of the island and from here you either left by boat, or hacked your way through 70 kilometres of scrub all the way to Kingscote and civilisation. Some never left, like the first keeper, the ill-fated Captain Woodward.

"I tripped over a stump and fell and the stump pierced my right eye. So beautifully written, and he just says - "it's cut away the lower lid of my eye and I fear I will lose sight of the right eye" - at 5.23 light on winds moderate, west sou-west - and he's straight back into his weather observations and never mentions his injury again"

The meticulous and clinical natures of the log entries belie the serious danger Woodward was in. The other light keepers hoisted flags in a bid to attract help from passing ships. Finally one did arrive, a month too late, and the entry by the second keeper records Woodwards' passing in the manner of all light keepers, with only relevant detail and no emotion.

"The entry just reads - at six winds moderate from the northeast, by noon winds freshening south to south west, Captain Woodward died"

"So that's a man's life, hmm yer just a three word sentence and three months into the operation of the lighthouse, the first head keeper was dead, so it was a very tragic start to the life at Cape Borda"

But, it's when you see the photos of the children and spot their crosses and headstones that you realise just how tough life was here. Captain George Main knew the pain of loss. His seven-year-old son William died when another lightkeeper's children brought scarlet fever to the settlement and later his other son Arthur disappeared.

"Four children went walking, the eldest aged nine and the youngest three and a half, only three returned. We searched throughout the evening. The following morning I found the remains of my youngest, Arthur Russel Main, at the base of the cliffs below the lighthouse"

"How old was Arthur?"

"A bit over three at the time"

Inside the heritage museum, you get the full picture on why and how this place was built on a lonely island at the bottom of the world. A clearing was hacked out of the scrub and a lighthouse built to warn ships away from the nearby cliffs. The other reason was Cape Borda's obvious strategic position. In the early days of the colony paranoia ran rife, with many convinced the Russians were coming.

"That defence motivation explains why we don't only have the lighthouse here but we've also always had a fearsome military presence".

"What, the cannon?"

"Yes, you obviously haven't failed to notice our trusty cannon. It arrived in 1858 and had done an excellent job of keeping Russia at bay since that time"

Each day at 1.00pm, Dan Grieve primes this imposing symbol of empire and ensures the shipping lanes of Investigator Strait remain free from invasion. The cannon is a high point of regular tours of the lighthouse settlement and is certainly Y2K compliant having been fired regularly since the millennium celebrations.

You can settle into life as a lighthouse keeper by checking into one of the cottages at Cape Borda. A night's accommodation is $36.00 per adult per night. For bookings, contact 61 (0)8 8559-7235. or email info@postcards.sa.com.au