Used daily for nearly 30 years, the log of William Norgate is a testament to his dedication. Although keepers were on call 24 hours a day, they were actually only paid for eight working hours per day: four during the daylight hours and another four at night, which meant ‘a man has plenty of time for himself ’. Everything seems to have needed constant tending. In such harsh coastal conditions buildings and equipment weathered quickly. It is half-sailor, half-bushman with all sorts of trades mixed with it’.ĭaily entries outline the endless tasks William faced: cleaning, repairing, painting, building and of course, above all, keeping the light maintained and burning at night. ![]() It is surprising what I have had to put my hand to, I had a lot to learn, but it is the variety of work that keeps it from getting monotonous. During his first year, he described his life on the island to a friend via a letter as ‘having to do everything that wants doing ourselves. William quickly settled into lighthouse life. Image: State Library of Queensland Collection. ![]() Although officially unidentified, this family group is likely the Norgates as they were still the keepers on Goods Island until January 1910. But Lizzie pushed through and as William wrote in 1894, ‘She is not very frightened of me and doesn’t cry to go home to her mammy yet ’. As the years passed, frequently William mentions Lizzie’s frail health that seemingly plagued her all her life. She seems to have missed the basics, such as three cups of tea a day rather than the rations which now faced her. ![]() Not surprisingly, it seems that William’s wife Lizzie initially struggled to adjust to island life. Despite the hardships of life on a remote outpost, men with a stable family were preferred as lighthouse keepers to single men. The position offered a house and regular income paid by the government and was seen by many as an opportunity to raise their family in relative security. However, once he was married he felt it would a better life for himself and Lizzie in the Lighthouse Service. William Norgate began his life as a keeper in 1893, after spending some years in the coastal pilot service. Visit as many of them as you can on your California coast road trip, listed here from north to south.Goods Island where the Norgates spent 20 years. The northern California coast offers some of the oldest lighthouses in the state, while the southern California coast offers additional interesting lighthouse finds, each with a unique history and purpose. Today, almost 30 lighthouses still stand proudly on the California coast and 16 of them are open to the public. Others are weathered and blend with the landscape, but still shine their lights brightly. ![]() Some lighthouses are freshly painted in contrasting colors making them a distinct landmark. Tall structures signal seamen great distances from the shore, while low ones help them to navigate in fog and low visibility. Meanwhile, other lighthouses are no longer on active duty but remain historic sites to visit, adopted by non-profit organizations determined to save them. Even though the nearly 300-year-long era of manned California lighthouses is now over, many of these light towers are now automated and still in use today.
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