The history of this ruined tower begins in 1856 when decisions were made to build a lighthouse. A lighthouse was definitely needed for the boats approaching Jervis Bay.

However, all the decisions were made without consulting experts like the Pilots Board. The construction was completed in 1860. As beautiful as the Cape St George Lighthouse was, its light was invisible from the Northern approach to the bay and nearly visible from the Southern approach.

The effectiveness of the lighthouse was even lessened by a conniving contractor. When the Pilots Board came out for an inspection, they found he had built the lighthouse 2 ½ miles north of the selected site so he could be closer to the quarry used for construction.

The Cape St George lighthouse is indirectly responsible for 23 shipwrecks off the South Coast between 1864 and 1893.

Eventually, in 1889, the new Point Perpendicular lighthouse was built. Now, there were two lighthouses close by which was causing confusion for mariners in the daytime. The Cape St George Tower was destroyed slowly from 1917 to 1922 when it was used for target practice by the Australian navy.

In addition to the stupidity of the construction, the Cape St George lighthouse is enshrouded with tragedy. In 1887, a girl was accidently shot and killed by her best friend. The teenager, Harriet Parker and Kate Gibson, were like sisters.

Their fathers were the Principal and Assistant light house keepers. The girls were playing on the rocks when Kate fell. She was carrying a loaded firearm which discharged into the back of her friend’s head.

Years later, in 1895, tragedy struck again. The chief lighthouse keeper Edward Bailey was fishing south of the lighthouse with two of his sons. He was washed into the water but started swimming towards the shore. The lighthouse keeper was probably eaten by sharks which his sons had noticed nearby.

One of the dead man’s 11 children, Arthur, took over the position as lighthouse keeper in order to care for the family. In 1899, another son of the dead man became lighthouse keeper at the new Pt. Perpendicular.