Macquarie Lighthouse

The Macquarie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light, is the first, and is the longest serving, lighthouse site in Australia. It is located on Dunbar Head, on Old South Head Road, Vaucluse in the Municipality of Woollahra local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The lighthouse is situated approximately 2 kilometres (1 mi) south of South Head near the entrance to Sydney Harbour. There has been a navigational aid in this vicinity since 1791 and a lighthouse near the present

The current heritage-listed lighthouse was completed in 1883. The lighthouse and associated buildings were designed by James Barnet and built from 1881 to 1883. The lighthouse is fully operational and is under the control of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. The grounds are managed by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.The lighthouse is featured on the coat of arms of Macquarie University. A simplified line drawing of the lighthouse forms the logo of Woollahra Council in which local government the lighthouse is located. The lighthouse and associated site were added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 and to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Macquarie Lighthouse Site was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. It was added to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 4 September 2008 with the following statement of significance:

The Macquarie Lighthouse site is of State significance as the location of the longest continuously operating site of a navigational beacon in Australia since 1794 and the site of the first lighthouse to be built in Australia in 1818. The Macquarie Lighthouse is an important Australian historic landmark containing the rare remains of the early Palladian-inspired design by Francis Greenway and Governor Lachlan Macquarie, a rare replica of the original Greenway lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse keeper's quarters in Australia, and a substantial example of a mid-Victorian period NSW lightstation designed by James Barnet.