The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse stands as a jagged white sentinel at Australia’s southwestern tip, where the Indian and Southern Oceans collide in perpetual battle. Built from local limestone in 1895, its 39-meter tower projects light visible 48 kilometres out to sea—a necessity given the graveyard of shipwrecks lurking beneath its gaze.

**Function & Structure**
– Active light station operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
– The original first-order Fresnel lens still rotates, amplified by modern electric lamps
– Fog horn blasts low-frequency warnings during thick swells (audible 5km inland)

**Surrounds & Significance**
– Built atop ancient granite where Dutch navigator Leeuwin charted the coast in 1622
– Windswept heathland dotted with salt-tolerant banksias and carnivorous sundews
– Visitor centre displays artifacts from shipwrecks: SS *Perth* (1882) lies just offshore
– Historic cottages house volunteer lighthouse keepers maintaining traditions