Port Melbourne's beacons, also known as the leading lights, define the centre line of the Port Melbourne Channel. The light was visible for 14 nautical miles. Until superseded by more recent technology, the beacons guided vessels safely to the piers.
In 1923 once the new Railway Pier, later Princes Pier, was fully operational, the Melbourne Harbor Trust wrote to…
Shrouded in Controversy
Apartment Towers at Beacon Cove (2021). Photo: David Thompson, PMHPS Collection.
This peaceful waterfront has been a centre of controversy many times since it was first occupied by Europeans in 1836.
Surveyor Darke’s Camp, Sandridge. Watercolour by W.F.E. Liardet (1875) State Library of Victoria
William Darke was one of the surveyors given the task of surveying the district…
Port Melbourne by Brian Cleveland
View of the railings along the seafront with the sea beacon and Princes Pier in the background.
'I think that there’s a whole lot of symbolism—iconography even—about what a lighthouse means and we use that as a metaphor in all sorts of language: beacon, lighthouse, navigation aid and so forth.' Peter Marquis-Kyle, Heritage Architect
The Port Melbourne Leading Lights were built in 1924, and in conjunction guided ships by marking the centre of the Port Melbourne Channel from…
Sometimes you just can't find the right word. Take icon, for example. Many Port Melbourne people have had enough of the word 'icon'. 'Iconic' as new developments are often described, is almost guaranteed to get people's backs up.
Port Melbourne foreshore from Princes Pier
Three Port landmarks of Port are captured in this image: the beacon, the newly restored Stothert & Pitt…
Do you remember that a previous post on the beacons mentioned that the off shore beacon used to have a timber walkway connecting it to the shore? These two great images from the City of Port Phillip's collection show this perfectly.
view to the shore, Commonwealth Engine Works (left) and the Mission to Seamen (right)
The citation says the photos were taken…
The off shore beacon is being painted.
Off Shore beacon gets a coat of paint, May 2013
The beacons are a much loved and defining feature of Port Melbourne. Wide Beacon Vista with its generous front setbacks reflects the historic need to maintain a line of sight and clearance between the beacons. Until Princes Pier was refurbished, the off shore beacon was…