South Solitary is another excellent Australian movie, set on South Solitary Island off Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales coast, about the lives of three lighthouse-keepers whose work was "unrelenting drudgery and tedium but you do catch the odd nice sunset ...".
Back in the 1920s, most lighthouse lanterns were in the form of temperamental kerosene mantles, and the revolution of the giant prism lens was controlled by a clockwork mechanism, which had to be re-wound continually throughout the night at regular intervals. The night was divided into three shifts, with the Head Lightkeeper always taking the first shift, thereby being responsible for the lighting up of the lamp, always fifteen minutes before sunset, and ensuring that it was indeed "all running correct". Each shift was between four and five hours long, and the Assistant Keepers would do a weekly rotation on the remaining two shifts - the least popular one being from 10 pm till 2 am. During his shift, a keeper had to maintain the burning of the lamp, re-wind the clockwork mechanism as required, and keep the pressure up in the kerosene cylinders. He would also check for passing ships, which were duly noted in the logbook, and note also three-hourly checks of barometer, wind and thermometer readings. The light would be extinguished fifteen minutes after sunrise, and a curtain pulled across the lantern room to protect the prism lens, and prevent fire. From 9am till noon, all the keepers were required to do routine work around the station.
A good story line and stunning photography!
