Carnarvon Heritage Group

The Carnarvon Heritage Precinct, situated at Carnarvon, Western Australia, is the original Port of Carnarvon. It comprises the One Mile Jetty, Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage Museum, the Carnarvon Tramway and a memorial to Australia's worst naval disaster, the sinking of the HMAS Sydney. The precinct is the focus of a project that will preserve and interpret the remaining elements of the port, create a major world class tourist attraction and create a community, educational, recreational and cultural resource.The jetty was built in 1897, and widened in 1912, and was the first port in Australia, and probably the world, where live stock was transported regularly on a commercial basis by sea. State ships stopped using the jetty in 1966. The first locomotive to be run along the jetty was the Kia Ora in 1909. The Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage was built in about 1900 to house the lighthouse keeper and his family and was used until the 1970's when the light became electric. Community effort and service clubs saw the preservation of the cottage, which was opened at the Bicentennial celebrations in 1988. It has been listed by the National Trust. The light, known as a Kitson Light was originally on a fixed wooden frame tower, however, it was damaged by fire in 1909 and gain in 1961. In 1962 the wooden structure was replaced by the steel one which stands today.