Lighthouses of Australia: A visitor's guide by John Ibbotson.

Lighthouses of Australia: A visitor's guide by John Ibbotson.  Hardcover book with pictorial boards (no dust jacket) published by Australian Lighthouse Traders 2003.

As the fog of Christmas starts to thin, I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Which brings me to this lovely guide to the Lighthouses of Australia.  John Ibbotson is a bit of a one man beacon in the world of Australian Lighthouses… yes, a bit of a shining light in the world of the Lighthouse fancier.  If you go to his website you can see the passion that this guy has for all things sitting on rocky coastlines shining lights.  There are a number of books with his name on them and they all sell for a good price both new and second hand.  This particular book no longer appears to be in print, although I’m sure that once John has finished promoting his book about “Climate Change Myths”, he will get back to the world of Lighthouses and once again guide us through the rocky world of the Lighthouses of Australia.

I was in my local post office the other day and quite casually and in a round about way, the post master informs me that she spent her early years growing up in a lighthouse in Queensland.  Unfortunately her family left when she was quite young and she doesn’t remember much, but still it’s not everyday that you meet someone who has first hand experience of not being able to go sit in the corner as a small child.  She also informed me that the lighthouse she grew up in is in this book… if only I could remember which one it was.

John Ibbotson’s Lighthouse books are all beautiful productions and I haven’t met anyone yet who hasn’t ooohhhed and aaahhhed when perusing any of his titles… even a hardened bookseller like myself ooohhhed.  I like the fact that John not only writes but also self publishes his books and from all appearances quite successfully.  

(I bumped into the Post Master mentioned above.  It was the Low Isles, Port Douglas. This is a photograph from the book of the Low Isles.)