There are no more photographed icons in Port Melbourne than the beacons. I prefer the more evocative and proper name 'The Leading Lights'.
Every day they look different.
The sea based towner is 16 metres high and the rear tower is 26 metres high. By lining up the lights housed int hese towers, a ship's captain could (and can) steer a direct course along the centre of the Port Melbourne Channel.
The rear tower now houses a flashing white light visible for 20 nautical miles and a tri-colour light visible for 15 nautical miles which shows red to the west of the channel, green to the east and white in the middle of the channel.
Recently some blue lights have been added to the rear beacon as its visibility had been diminished by the competition of lighting from surrounding houses.
A walkway used to go out to the seaward beacon.
With the backdrop of the Port of Melbourne and the Westgate Bridge they offer themselves again and again as an image of alignment and direction.
