The must-do experience at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Housed in one of the original lighthouse keeper cottages and spread over four main rooms, the exhibition shares the fascinating stories of the families who once lived at the tallest lighthouse on mainland Australia through animated film, interactive technology and artefacts.  

The permanent exhibition space explores the stories and people associated with Cape Leeuwin from its 1895 inception through to the last lighthouse keeper’s departure in 1996, when the site became fully automated.  

Steering the creative was production company Gibson Group, part of the design team behind the award-winning National Anzac Centre in Albany. The result is an engaging and emotional experience, transporting visitors back to the harsh and lonesome conditions endured by lighthouse keepers and their families.  

Project director Brett Tompkins was involved from the initial concept design through to the final installation and commissioning of the experience.

“The intention of the exhibition is to be compelling without being overly encyclopedic – to take the visitor on an emotional journey more than a factual history lesson. It is broad in appeal with stories on not only facts and figures about the lighthouse but also many personal stories about the people that lived here.”  

Spread across four main rooms and the enclosed verandah of one of the three original lighthouse keepers’ cottages, visitors learn about daily duties and what it was like to raise children on the edge of the continent, where two oceans meet.

“I think people have a rather romanticised expectation about lighthouses, and this experience will give them some insight into what life really was like,” says Brett. “Living and working at a lighthouse was very regimented, and you were on constant shift work, seven days a week. It wasn’t a very desirable job at all. Of course, life was not always grim – we have several stories from people who fondly remember growing up at Cape Leeuwin as children. Although, it was often a little hazardous.”  

Interactive experiences include a touchscreen for practising Morse Code, a piano that’s served in six lighthouses around Australia and periodically bursts into song, and a portrait wall that comes to life as visitors approach. An animated film in a pitch-black room takes guests on an emotional journey through the history of the lighthouse and the treacherous coastline that continues to demand respect from passing sailors.  

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, standing proudly where two oceans meet, has long captured the imagination of the inquisitive traveller. With the addition of a thoughtfully curated Interpretive Centre, its allure is now greater than ever.