The spectacular ‘optic’ which stood sentry in the South Solitary Island Lighthouse for decades is set to shine again after a meticulous restoration and relocation project that will tantalise history buffs worldwide.
For years, the heritage optic has been hidden in the bowels of the Coffs Harbour Table Tennis Club, where it was anchored in concrete and cloaked in a plastic box to protect it from errant table tennis balls.
The story of its freedom and rebirth rivals Tolkien’s fantasy take on the all-seeing eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings.
The optic stood proud on South Solitary until 1975 when the lighthouse was automated.
From there, it passed to the Coffs Harbour Regional Museum, where it was housed in a building on Harbour Drive. And so it stayed for years, even after the old museum folded and the building was repurposed as a table tennis centre.
The City of Coffs Harbour took on the regional museum collection, and a plan was hatched to rebirth the optic – a complex procedure which involved removing part of the roof and craning it out.
The operation was supported by the NSW Government through a Community Building initiative.
“It’s an incredible chapter in our history and a spectacular result for the community to see the optic restored to a place of prominence on the coastline,” City of Coffs Harbour Mayor Cr Paul Amos said.
The light’s storied past is compelling.
“It’s the first and last lighthouse optic in NSW to be powered by kerosene,” City of Coffs Harbour’s City Planning and Communities Director Chris Chapman said.
“It’s the largest, most unique item in the museum collection.
“It’s incredibly significant historically. The factory in the UK which made the glass panels was destroyed when it was bombed in World War II.”
The mammoth project to restore the optic culminated in its installation at the Coffs Harbour Jetty near the new community building.
Once again it now stands proud at the coastline in a specially designed enclosure which includes interpretive signage about the all-seeing eye of Coffs Harbour.
Mayor Amos will officially open the optic on 15 March and light the lens which will be illuminated for 15 minutes from 7.05pm, 144 years to the day when it was first lit on the island in 1880.
The community is invited to gather at dusk for this moment which will include a celebration by the Friends Of South Solitary Island Lighthouse (FOSSIL).
A lone piper will herald the Official Opening and Anniversary event.
