Scot gets dream job as lighthouse keeper on remote Australian island

A Scottish antheral has landed his "dream job" arsenic a lighthouse keeper connected a distant Australian island.

Sandy Duthie, 42, jumped astatine the accidental erstwhile the erstwhile lighthouse keeper decided to discontinue aft 25 years connected Gabo Island, disconnected the seashore of Victoria.

Sandy, from Aberdeenshire, visited Australia 5 years agone with his partner, and ne'er left. When helium went to the tiny lighthouse land helium realised helium would emotion to 1 time go portion of its history.

Landing the lighthouse keeper and land caretaker occupation means helium is present spending six months of the twelvemonth determination - 1 period connected and 1 period disconnected - with a colony of penguins for company.

Sandy hails from Kirkton of Durris, adjacent Banchory.

He studied ecology astatine the University of Aberdeen earlier becoming an arborist.

He visited Mallacoota successful 2019 with his spouse Brodie Gaudion connected an archetypal three-month vacation visa to conscionable her household for the archetypal time, and ended up staying.

He archetypal went to Gabo Island 2 years ago, and dreamed of yet being its caretaker.

Gabo lighthouse itself was built much than 160 years ago.

Previous keeper Leo op den Brouw, 70, had spent each 2nd period unsocial connected the land for the past 25 years.

When helium decided to instrumentality to household beingness connected the mainland earlier this twelvemonth that near the station open, and Sandy landed the occupation with authorities organisation Parks Victoria.

He and different keeper - who has present been moving determination for 16 years - stock the month-on and month-off rotation.

Sandy and his tremendous beard - which helium has been cultivating for galore years, and which helium thinks whitethorn person helped successful the occupation interrogation - started his caller occupation backmost successful March.

He gets to and from the land via a tiny vessel charter.

It takes astir 30 minutes if the upwind allows it - the conditions are often choppy - and determination thin to beryllium whales nearby.

Sandy's archetypal acquisition of Gabo Island came erstwhile helium visited for 2 weeks to bash weed power work.

"It felt similar location immediately, it felt precise overmuch similar the northbound eastbound of Scotland," helium explained.

"The foliage - it’s beauteous scrubby - and the granite is dissimilar immoderate different portion of Australia that I’ve seen. I fell instantly successful emotion with the place.

"I asked the caretaker past however helium got helium occupation and helium told maine it was conscionable luck astatine the close spot and the close time. And since past helium retired and I applied for the occupation - close place, close time.

"The occupation does not travel up precise often."

He described Gabo land arsenic tiny but with "amazing" wildlife.

"We person small penguins - a ample colony of them," helium said.

"We person whales, oversea eagles and seals. We person whales spell past perpetually astatine the moment.

"I saw astir 15 oregon 16 today. Sometimes determination are 30 oregon 40 a day."

Sandy said the occupation itself is much similar a mode of living.

"You person to truly get with the bushed of what you person to bash and not enactment excessively overmuch anticipation oregon readying due to the fact that Gabo Island has a mode of flipping circular immoderate plans you have.

"You person to beryllium capable to problem-solve. Our scope of tasks tally from upwind observations each six hours to cleaning the nationalist toilets, coating everything - we person 80% humidity with brackish aerial truthful everything rusts and corrodes and it each needs looked after.

"There’s a batch of ongoing attraction that needs to beryllium done to the house.

"You conscionable person to expect the unexpected."

He said the occupation was perfect for him, but that it came with challenges.

"There’s capable quality to support your caput engaged each the time," Sandy said.

"I rather bask my ain company. I bash besides bask the institution of others. My spouse comes to visit.

"Don’t get maine wrong, determination are immoderate days wherever it seems similar a situation sometimes.

"The erstwhile caretaker described it arsenic Alcatraz the rock. You can’t leave, spell to household events if you’re here. Sometimes we get stuck connected present for days connected extremity due to the fact that of the weather.

"But astatine the aforesaid clip you tin fundamentally constitute your ain publication of the time and spell astir your duties.

“It tin beryllium hard erstwhile telephone awesome drops retired but there’s not overmuch that I miss..

He said supplies could tally debased if a vessel did not come.

"But the different broadside of it is erstwhile I get backmost to the mainland, thing I’ve recovered is having to beryllium ace cautious astir being successful a assemblage of people.

"If you’ve been present for weeks by yourself and not seen different look it’s rather intimidating going to the pub oregon going to an event.”

He has besides discovered that determination were different Scottish connections to Gabo Island.

"The pinkish granite connected Gabo is precise hard compared to different Australian granite," Sandy explained.

"Documents I’ve recovered suggest the idiosyncratic successful complaint of gathering the lighthouse successful 1859 really sought Scottish stonemasons, successful peculiar ones who had worked connected the Aberdeen and Peterhead lighthouses, arsenic they were utilized to moving with specified a hard material.

"Unfortunately we don’t cognize overmuch much astir who built the lighthouse though.

"There’s a publication astir each of the caretakers who person been connected the land since 1859, and a batch of them are Scottish - radical from the Highlands and Islands, Perth, Edinburgh, Glasgow and from the northbound eastbound too.

"It’s truly unthinkable the Scottish transportation here.

“It is 100% a imagination job. For maine it’s perfect."