Vlamingh Head Lighthouse is situated on the northern most tip of the Cape Range and is 17km north of Exmouth. The Lighthouse over looks Lighthouse Bay, which includes the wreck of the SS Mildura.

​

The SS Mildura was wrecked in Lighthouse Bay in 1907 and is the reason the Lighthouse was built. In 1910  the construction started on the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse and was finished on the 10th December 1912. It was a fully functioning lighthouse up until it was decommissioned in 1967. The new lighthouse light is now situated halfway up tower 11, which is part of the VLF towers. 

​

The name Vlamingh Head Lighthouse comes from a Dutch Captain Willem De Vlamingh, who was the first to chart the head of the Cape hence the name Vlamingh Head Lighthouse. The Captain was on a rescue mission in 1696 to the waters of Western Australia to look for survivors of Dutch shipwreck. It was then when he sighted the head of the Cape Range. On the same Journey he visited one of WA’s most popular tourist spots Rottnest Island and also gave it the name. The name was originally ‘rats’ nest (after the small marsupial quokka), but in Dutch sounded more like Rottnest. He was also believed to Captain one of the first European ships up the Swan River and the first groups of Europeans to see Black Swans.

The Vlamingh Head Lighthouse is a photographers dream! It boasts spectacular views of the northern most section of the Ningaloo Reef and is one of the only places in Australia where you can watch the sunrise and sunset over the ocean. At certain times of the year it becomes a hotspot for Whale Watching as Humpback Whales love to rest and play In Lighthouse Bay.

To visit the Lighthouse is a ‘Must Do’ in Exmouth and in 2011 it was recognised when it became World Heritage Listed by UNESCO on it’s 100th birthday. That makes our Lighthouse over 115 years old!

​

All information here is courtesy of Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions