Thursday, September 20, 2012

Byron Bay - Lighthouse

Hi V ... The Byron Bay Lighthouse must be one of the most picturesque in the country.  It was opened in 1901 with much fanfare.  ByronBay.com records that a banquet was arranged to mark the occasion and special trains ferried visitors from Lismore and Murwillumbah.  The Premier of the day, the Hon. John See, and other V.I.P's left Sydney in the Government Steamer called "Victoria".  Bad weather prevented the vessel from arriving on time and the scheduled party proceeded as planned while the V.I.P's from Sydney bobbed on the ocean some thirty miles away.  The vessel arrived around midnight on 30 November 1901 but even then the bad weather prevented the passengers from disembarking until dawn.  The food had been eaten and the toast had been heartily drunk in the absence of the officials but perhaps it was just as well.  The dignitaries may not have had the stomach for fine dining after lolling about on rough seas in a steamboat for 24 hours. Cheers J.

5 comments:

  1. I know it's nothing alike or anything Joe, but the first thing that came into my mind when I saw this image was the Sacre Coeur, just the colours I guess, wonderful angle here and tres interesting story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've often seen this lighthouse featured in travel mags ... Imagine the poor Premier and his party bobbing away on that steamer.... I would have jumped overboard
    SO majestic against the clear blue sky

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hope you took a walk right down to the very bottom of the cliffs....event hough the climb back isn't all fun!

    ReplyDelete