Recently we bought you a story about a message in a bottle found in the wall of the Cape Bruny lighthouse. The Cape Bruny lighthouse, on Bruny Island, was home to one of Australia’s longest serving lighthouse keepers, Captain William John Hawkins.
William John Hawkins
Bruny Island’s waters were dangerous. Powerful winds, hidden reefs, and sudden storms made navigation difficult. Dozens of ships were wrecked in the area, including the wreck of the George III in 1835, with heavy loss of life. This led Governor George Arthur to commission the building of the Cape Bruny lighthouse which was first lit in 1838.
William served as the lighthouse Superintendent at Cape Bruny for 37 years (1876 - 1914). He had also spent nine months in 1864 as keeper at Goose Island lighthouse in Bass Strait.
A lighthouse Superintendent and his assistants were stationed in this remote spot to tend the light. Nightly tasks of maintaining the light were challenging. The lighthouse light relied on a clockwork planetary table which needed re-winding every eight hours. Each of the fifteen fragile lamps that made up the light burned 600mls of expensive sperm whale oil per hour. This meant frequent refilling was needed.
Other lighthouse tasks included general maintenance of the lighthouse and other buildings on the site and tending to the station’s vegetable patch.
William Hawkins and assistants at the Cape Bruny lighthouse
Photo: Courtsey of Mick Hawkins
Accompanying William during his time at Cape Bruny were his wife and children. It was an isolated experience. A road was only put through to Cape Bruny in 1960. Before that, all supplies were delivered by boat to a jetty in Great Taylors Bay and transported the 4km to the light station by bullock and cart.
In his time, William saw many advancements in lighthouse technology. This included the installation of a telegraph to Cape Bruny in 1902, which revolutionised communications with Hobart. In 1903 he was involved in major upgrades to the lighthouse. This included a new lantern room and new lens assembly, iron staircase and a new light sequence. The upgraded light and new sequence were designed to make the Cape Bruny light more distinct and visible to passing ships further out to sea.
Before becoming a lighthouse Superintendent, William had been a Master Mariner and had spent 20 years at sea on various ships. This included one that was shipwrecked off Tasmania’s Truwana/Cape Barren Island. He nearly drowned, but managed to find his way ashore.
A later illness meant William could only speak in a hoarse whisper and he could no longer be at sea. As he considered his future, he applied for employment as a lighthouse Superintendent.
By applying skills he learnt at sea, there can be no doubt that his many years of dedicated service, maintaining and running lighthouses, saved many sailors from shipwreck.
William Hawkins on Jetty Beach Cape Bruny