9 May until 13 July 2003, 9.30 am 5 pm

Entry is free with a Maritime Museum entry ticket or Annual Boarding Pass

Whether it's their distinctive architecture, their splendid isolation or the romantic associations they conjure, it seems almost everyone has a soft spot for lighthouses. Which augers well for the success of the forthcoming Beacon's By the Sea exhibition at the Western Australian Maritime Museum on Victoria Quay.

Beacons By The Sea: Stories of Australian Lighthouses from the National Archives of Australia is now on exhibit at the WA Maritime Museum Travelling Gallery.

The exhibition traces the history of lighthouses in Australia from the time of European colonisation through to automation. It looks at lighthouses from inside and out, recalling the humorous, sad and sometimes tragic stories and experiences of lighthouse keepers and their families over the last 100 years.

Featuring lighthouse plans, letters, log books photographs and film, the exhibition highlights the architecture and design of lighthouses, their roles during war, shipwrecks, myth and changing technology.

There is an interesting array of objects too, including nautical flags, a lighthouse spittoon and even the original optic (glass lens, prism and revolving pedestal) that shone faithfully on Little Fitzroy Island from 1927 to 1973 when it was replaced by a solar electric light.

Fremantle Ports are supporting Beacons By The Sea by loaning a range of navigational aids from past and present. Replicas of Parmelia and Success Channel beacons and Fremantle's famous North and South Mole lighthouses will guide visitors into the exhibition, where objects including an antique lamp and state-of-the-art sectored navigational light will be on display. The finalists in the Woodman Point Lighthouse Centenary Photographic Competition will also be displayed.

Much of the material in the exhibition is from the rich collection of lighthouse records held by the National Archives, with the additional items sourced from the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the Queensland Maritime Museum.

The tour of this exhibition was assisted Visions of Australia, a Commonwealth Government Program providing funding support to tour exhibitions of cultural material across Australia.

Visions of Australia aims to provide all Australians, wherever they live, with better access to the nation's cultural heritage; historic, scientific and visual arts material; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

For more information: Western Australian Maritime Museum (08) 9431 8444