12/08/2026
LIFE LIGHTS UP ON THE RICHTER SCALE
A forbidding, padlocked fence marks the end of an hour-long, bone-crushing drive through potholes, around hairpin bends and over unsteady bridges.
The suburban car grinds to a halt, violently objecting to its harsh treatment. The deserted terrain matches the inhospitable road, the only sound the crashing of nearby waves
A large yellow sign under scores the message of the pad lock, warning those who happen along the road to go no further. On a rainy winter day the warning is not needed.
Finally, a bearded man, head encased in a home-knitted beanie, appears behind the wire barrier. The gate swings open and allows the road to wind on a further 15 minutes before ending at a strange collection of weatherboard structures.
The two houses and odds and ends make up the colony which services Point Hicks lighthouse, light years away from "nearby" Cann River.
The bearded man is the lighthouse keeper, Chris Richter.
Lighthouses evoke images of isolation and wild weather, of the keeper wrapped in sou'wester with steamy soup in hand staring out through the wild night.
Chris Richter, minus the sou'wester and soup, does little to dispel the image.
The huge glow from the lighthouse has been warning passing ships of nearby dangers since 1887. Eight ships have been wrecked on Point Hicks, the last the iron and wood hulled 'Saros', which came to grief on Christmas Day, 1937.
Today, there are many more tourists who visit the lighthouse than ships who pass its waters. As the tourist numbers increase, so do the hours spent on cleaning and maintaining the whitewashed building.
The rope which dangles past the tower's 154 steps hauls a modern vacuum cleaner and other cleaning implements to wipe away the marks of the curious which are imprinted in the control tower, 56 metres above the sea.
Chris shares the colony with his wife, Ailsa, and their children. They wait for the inevitable queries about life in Isolation.
"Everybody asks, do we get lonely, and do I teach the children Ailsa laughs. "The answer is no and yes respectively."
However, they agree the life is an isolated one which would not suit many people.
"Sometimes I used to consider myself anti-social. I don't think I am, I just have a quiet nature, Chris said. "To survive this life you have got to be able to socialise and be happy within your own family and not need to look outside for entertainment."
"This kind of isolation is a little different to a farm. If you have talked to a farmer, you have talked to us. I have seen a lot of people come and go from lighthouses and they are the people who have been from a city background"
The Richters came to Point Hicks this year after postings on Deal Island, Swan Island, Gabo Island and Wilsons Promontory.
"Point Hicks is the most accessible mainland lighthouse - after eight years living on islands we found it difficult to accept that we could drive out the front gates (but) we felt the children needed to socialise with others their own age," Chris explained.
The Richters eldest child, aged 10, boards at Cann River, while the other children take correspondence lessons at home,
"While the kids were ahead academically, we found they had no idea of sports, games and music.
"Here, we have the best of both worlds relative isolation and access to the community for the children."
Chris gets about $18,000 for his work and the free use of the house. The Richters are granted a $500 teaching allowance for each child annually, and $989 towards the cost of boarding their eldest child.
The money may not be overwhelming but the lifestyle is one which suits the whole family.
I feel we are safeguarding the country's heritage, it is a good lifestyle, Chris said.
One might expect a lighthouse keeper to head to the bright lights when on holiday, but not so.
"We tend to spend our holidays touring the outback," Ailsa laughed. "But we do make an effort for the kids and take them to the zoo and museums in the city - but we hurry back."
Courtesy of Nandor Barabas Collection
By Anna-Marie McCarthy
Herald Sun June 30 1987
Bass Strait Maritime Museum
