Ships heading for Port Adelaide coming from a westward direction had to pass Kangaroo Island via the Cape Borda lighthouse and the Lloyds signal station situated on the north west point of the island. During daylight hours ships would signal by flags and at night time by Morse lamp. A cannon was situated at the lighthouse and fired at regular intervals in heavy fog to alert ships of danger and to assist them in determining their position.
Cape Borda lighthouse residents circa 1909.
Cape Borda lighthouse today with the fog signal cannon which is still fired daily at 12.30pm for visitors by the resident tourist guide. The cannon was originally situated on the bluff pointing out to sea.
During the month of June several vessels arrived at the Semaphore anchorage near Adelaide without being reported by the Cape Borda signal station. On June the 6th 1909 the ss Waratah arrived unexpectedly with Captain Ilbery complaining that no one had been warned of his impending arrival. In his complaint to the Marine Board he stated that he had signalled Cape Borda on passing and failed to see why he had not been reported. On Thursday the 2nd of July the Marine Board at its meeting heard the President state that he had called for a report from the head keeper, who in reply enclosed a copy of the log for the day mentioned. This showed that the keeper Carrison was on duty from 2am till 8am and he kept a good lookout, and only went into the lighthouse to attend to the light and wind the clockwork. The board concluded that he must have been doing his work between 4am and 4.40am when the Waratah signalled, no action was taken. All messages about shipping from Cape Borda in 1909 were forwarded by telephone, previously to that a telegraph key at the lighthouse was used by an operator known as a telegraph master who was stationed at the light.
Yellow arrow points to the small dot (Cape Borda lighthouse) from seaward about 5 miles off.
In August 1907 shipping merchants, agents, stevedores, and passengers complained to the Marine Board about vessels passing Cape Borda and not being reported by apparent neglect of the staff at the signal station. This in turn led to lost time and money by all concerned in the industry at Adelaide. The Marine Board visited the station to look into the complaints, after all this was a Lloyds signal station, some staff changes took place as a result. Not all blame can be attached fully to the lighthouse staff as not all ships passing could be properly identified. The reasons for this is that flags flapping in the wind could not be properly read, ships passing to far off to be recognized by telescope, foggy or hazy weather with poor visibility at night due to extreme weather conditions. There is of course always one ship that will not identify himself in an effort of getting to the anchorage and hoping to jump the que by bribing officialdom in exchange for the first available berth. It would appear that not being reported by the lighthouse very little may have changed when Captain Ilbery steamed passed on the morning of the 6th of June 1909.
Lighthouse keeper winding up a lighthouse clockwork. (Circa about 1927)
