Point Hicks Lighthouse - Heritage Icons Project
Project status
The above timeline is a current projection and will be subject to assessments, permits, and on-ground and construction industry conditions.
Current status: A condition assessment for the lighthouse has been completed and work is being undertaken to identify the scope of repair works to available budget.
The Point Hicks lighthouse is currently closed and inaccessible due to bushfire and flood damage to the Thurra River Bridge. The project to deliver repairs to the bridge is being led by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). Conservation and repair works to the lighthouse will commence once access to the site has been achieved.
You can stay up to date on the Thurra River Bridge works by visiting the Croajingolong Nation Park Bushfire Recovery page.
Last updated: January 2024
The project
This project is being delivered at Croajingolong National Park, an Aboriginal cultural landscape steeped in history. Parks Victoria respects the deep and continuing connection that Traditional Owners have to these lands and waters, and we recognise their ongoing role in caring for the country.
The area also has a strong connection to Australia’s early settlement, with Captain James Cook the first Brit to spot the granite headlands of Point Hicks off Victoria’s far-east coast in 1770.
The lighthouse was first lit in 1890 and is the tallest in mainland Australia. Its construction is somewhat of a mystery, with few details known about how the large concrete structure - an unusual material to use at the time - came to be erected in just two years in this remote part of Victoria.
Particularly curious is the use of cast iron throughout the lighthouse. Weighing many tonnes, the material was somehow transported to the very top of the towering structure to create the lantern room and the 162-step spiral staircase that is still cantilevered from the lighthouse’s walls.
The project will see major repairs undertaken to the historic Point Hicks Lighthouse to restore the structure, remedying structural issues and corroding stonework.
Project benefits
Visitors and community
This project will restore safe access to the lighthouse, helping to reactivate the site and keep it open to the community for many years to come. It is being undertaken in association with other projects to repair and activate the Point Hicks precinct, including repairs and improvements to buildings on the lighthouse site.
Economy
The Heritage Icons projects are expected to create around 80 jobs over four years, many in specialist trades. Works will also support Victoria’s tourism industry by preserving and protecting this historical site for visitors at home and right across the world.
Project funding
The Victorian Government is investing $2.5 million to repair Point Hicks Lighthouse.
Who are we working with?
East Gippsland Shire Council
Heritage Victoria
National Parks (Victoria)
Access changes
Due to bushfires and coastal erosion caused by heavy rainfall, access to the Point Hicks Lighthouse is currently closed. More information can be found on the park’s change of condition page.
Related information
News August 2023: Historic lightstations, forts and mansion to get a new lease on life
Heritage Icons Projects
Point Hicks Lighthouse
Croajingolong National Park