Lighthouse Keepers and Their Families (1949)

Video Clip Synopsis:
Three lighthouse keepers and their families are the only residents on remote and windswept Maatsuyke Island, off the south-west coast of Tasmania.

Duration:
2min 16sec

Lighthouse Keepers and Their Families is an excerpt from the film The Lighthouse Keeper (11 mins), produced in 1949.

The Lighthouse Keeper: There are few lonelier jobs than that of a lighthouse keeper. Around Australia’s long coastline are the lighthouses that provide navigational aids to ships at sea. Many of these are sited in lonely spots, but the people who tend them never fail to keep the lights ablaze. This program looks at the lifestyle of a family living in the lighthouse on Maatsuyker Island, off the southwest coast of Tasmania.

The Lighthouse Keeper is a National Film Board Production. Produced by the Department of Information.

Curriculum Focus: SOSE/HSIE
Year: 7-8
Strand: Place and space
Theme: Civic Work

Gender roles, isolation, changing technology

Lighthouses are essential for the safety of ships. Each has its own special sequence of flashing, and this tells navigators where they are located. They are always placed on land, and warn of the presence of rocks and land that need to be avoided in an area. This lighthouse is situated on Maatsuyker Island below Tasmania. For many years three lighthouse keepers and their families lived on this island. It is an isolated location where food and supplies were brought in every few months by boat. It is a challenging environment where the weather is changeable, often with very cold winds. Despite these challenges, these lighthouse keepers never failed to keep the lights ablaze. It might be a lonely occupation but for certain people, they enjoy the lifestyle in a remote place like Maatsuyker Island. There is also something beautiful about lighthouses. Today, however, with changes in technology which automate lighthouses, lighthouse keepers have become part of a bygone era.

1. Describe the setting of the lighthouse. Is it an attractive place?
2. Describe the jobs that need to be done to keep the light working and visible.
3. The video clip tells us that three families live there. Why might those families choose to live there?
4. What might be the advantages or benefits of living in this way? What might be the disadvantages or costs?
5. The families on the lighthouse form a small community. List some words that describe the special qualities needed for people to live in such a small community.

1. Why are lighthouses needed?
2. Changes in technology over time have changed the need for and operation of lighthouses. Discuss what impact on lighthouses these changes would have made:
   • The change from sail to engines in ships
   • The development of Global Positioning System Navigation in ships
   • Accurate navigation charts of coastal waters.
   You might research one of these in more detail
3. Nearly every lighthouse in Australia has become automated, and there are no longer any families living on them. Many of these lighthouses are considered heritage sites. Imagine that you have been asked to create a plaque that will help tourists to the island appreciate what they are seeing. List some of the points you would write on that plaque.

SOSE/HSIE Year 7-8, English Year 7-8, English Year 7-8