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Low Isles lighthouse guiding mariners since 1878

GUARDIANS

OF PARADISE:

LIFE WITH

THE LOW ISLES

CARETAKERS

Words by Maura Mancini
Photography; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

For years I’ve been visiting Low Isles while A Lighthouse Legacy heritage buildings, and breathed new life into ageing infrastructure. Their
working on commercial boats, guiding tourists Low Isles has been guiding mariners since 1878, work lingers everywhere.
through coral gardens, sandy paths, and the when its lighthouse, one of Queensland’s earliest, Volunteers like Lili Jansen carry that same spirit. A cornerstone of LIPS

historic lighthouse precinct. On days off I often was first lit. It created a vital navigational point since 1994, she has served as a relief caretaker, bird surveyor, and all-round

Eight nautical miles, about 15 kilometres sail my small yacht across the short stretch of sea, along what became the longest shipping lane in guardian of the island. She still remembers recording the weather manually

off Port Douglas, where the sea settles tie up to a public mooring, and stay the night the world. For more than a century, lighthouse every day: wind, rain, sea state, before electronic stations were installed. It
into a calm lagoon, lie the Low Isles: Low beneath a sky washed clean by the trade winds. keepers lived on the island in remote isolation, was just part of island life. Lili smiles as she says: “It’s a simple life, but a full

one. The island tells you what needs doing each day.”
Island, a coral cay built on the reef, and Few places feel as unhurried as Low Isles: sunrise their cottages arranged around the tower. Daily life on Low Isles is simple in its rhythm but demanding in its tasks.

That era came to an end in 1992. After 115 years
over Woody Island’s mangroves, fish grazing
Woody Island, a sheltering mangrove under the hull, the lighthouse standing watch, it of continuous lighthouse staffing, the Australian In response, a group of Douglas Shire locals came together to form the Low Caretakers maintain paths, manage vegetation, and keep the lighthouse

island. Together they have long been always feels special. Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) automated Isles Preservation Society. LIPS created a volunteer-driven model to support precinct safe and accessible. They tend to essential systems like power,

island management, restoration and research, one that still underpins care

a refuge for seabirds, turtles, sailors, But the calm that visitors see is only possible the light and the resident keepers left. The of the cays today. It remains one of the region’s most successful community- water and communications, and meet the thousands of visitors each year,
handover of island management to the Great

researchers, and for those, like me, who because of constant care. The Low Isles remain Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) led conservation initiatives. offering guidance on how to enjoy the island responsibly. And they live
entirely off grid. Every drop of fresh water comes from rain, every watt

come for its peace and wonder. pristine thanks to the year-round presence of raised uncertainty, with concerns that reduced Living O -Grid: Sustaining Paradise of electricity from the sun. Fuel is rationed carefully. All waste must be

dedicated caretakers and the tireless volunteers on-ground oversight could leave the fragile

of the Low Isles Preservation Society (LIPS), coral cays exposed to pressure from increasing Among this community I’ve met over the years, few have left as deep removed from the island. Composting toilets and a compact wastewater
who have protected and supported these cays for visitation. an imprint as Colin and Renata Musson, who completed their tenure as plant keep the system sustainable. Nothing is discarded thoughtlessly. It’s a
more than three decades. the island’s caretakers earlier in the year. Beyond their daily duties, they beautiful existence, but one that requires constant vigilance, practical skills,
restored the onsite museum, raising funds themselves to do so, renovated and resilience.
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