Cape St George Lighthouse

Cape St George Lighthouse is a group of sandstone ruins on Booderee’s coast: a roofless tower and traces of the buildings that supported it. The light first shone in 1860, but the tower was later taken down, so come for the weathered stonework, maritime history and open headland views, not an intact lighthouse to climb through. From the car park it’s a short walk to the remains and the interpretation boards.

The approach follows unsealed Stony Creek Road. A 4WD isn’t required, but the road needs extra care. Visitors report toilets at the car park; their type isn’t established. If you spot the small path to the right on the way in, it leads to a separate cliff-top view before the ruins.

The original lighthouse building was more than a tower: up to 15 keepers and family members lived in its eight ground-floor rooms. A separate seven-room weatherboard cottage was built near the stables in 1877. Getting supplies was a chore. The landing at Murrays Beach was more than four kilometres away, so horses carried mail and provisions and took children to school; goats supplied milk and meat where grazing was scarce.

The Cape St George light was replaced at Point Perpendicular in 1899, after mariners reported difficulty seeing it on approaches to Jervis Bay. The old tower was later demolished so ships wouldn’t mistake the two nearby lighthouses for one another. Its lantern was reused at Crookhaven Heads.

The displays recount individual shipwrecks, alongside the hard, isolated lives of the keeper families. The headland is also a whale-watching spot: humpbacks pass on migration, and returning females with calves are often seen from about September through November or December. A sighting is never guaranteed.

For a photo, include some of the sandstone remains with the cliffs or open water behind them; that gives the ruin a sense of place. The side path on the approach offers another coastal angle if it’s open and clearly marked.