THE McCrae lighthouse restoration project has received a $1 million grant from Heritage Victoria. The grant will return the 33.5 metre high lighthouse – Port Phillip’s tallest – to its former glory inside and out. It will be painted from its current colour of greyish silver to its original bright white.
The lighthouse, built in England in 1874, was shipped out and assembled on the McCrae foreshore in 1883 and shone bright for the next 111 years before being retired in 1994.
The restoration is due to start next month and be finished in December. It will include a full clean and sealing to make it watertight.
“The McCrae Lighthouse Restoration project will include a full clean, paint and repair works to guarantee its ongoing historical importance to our community,” the mayor Cr Despi O’Connor said.
The lighthouse is listed on Victoria’s Historic Buildings Register. “It is one of two such types remaining in Australia,” Cr Kerri McCafferty said.
“McCrae foreshore is such a beautiful section of our coast and restoring the lighthouse to its former glory will only enhance that beauty.”
Details: email project manager chris.lyne@mornpen.vic.gov.au or visit: mornpen.vic.gov.au/mccraelighthouse
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 13 July 2021
