First Order – Australia’s Highway of Lighthouses

First Order – Australia’s Highway of Lighthouses documents the extraordinary history of Australia’s greatest lighthouses – those bearing a first order lens, measuring up to twelve feet high and six feet across. Painstakingly researched First Order presents in chronological order, the motivation, history of design, construction and function as well as the technical details of each lighthouse.

Juxtaposed is the intimate human saga; that of the architects, engineers and builders facing hardship and danger as they toiled on remote, windswept sites; the soul of each lighthouse – the keepers and their families; vignettes of isolated family life and tales of tragedy, of illness, death and lonely graves; stories of a harsh climate, shipwreck and survival but also of love, romance and triumph over adversity.

Lavishly illustrated with archival images as well as the author’s breath-taking photographs, First Order is a milestone in Australia’s lighthouse history as it presents Australia’s finest lighthouses in all their magnificent glory over two centuries.

Author : Garry Searle
Hardback:  418 pages

SKU: P30125