• The intensity of the white light is 116,000 Candelas (CD) and can be seen for a distance of 20 nautical miles(32kms). The red light has an intensity of 23,000 CD and can be seen from 16 nautical miles away. The most powerful light in Australia is Cape Byron Lighthouse, with 2,200,000 CD. The French light at Creach Ile D’Ouessant is the most powerful in the world, with 500,000,000 CD. **For comparison a car headlamp on high beam produces 75,000-95,000 CD

• The lens was designed by Jean Augustin Fresnel and is made up of a series of lenses and prisms which concentrate a horizontal light out to sea. The Chance Brothers perfected its manufacture in the shape of a bee-hive.

• In 1913, the famous ‘Brewis Report’ was published to review the operation of existing lighthouses on the southeast coast of Australia. As a result, there were many changes to the operation of lighthouses. At Split Point the report recognized that the light sectors were inconsistent with the universally accepted system. Red is the colour universally adopted to indicate danger, and must be positioned outside of the white light. It is aligned to headlands, points and/or reefs. At Split Point red was shown where white should be, and white where red should be expected to be positioned. Therefore, shortly after the report, the situation was fixed, where the white inshore sectors were converted to red by utilising the red glass shades from the main light. Prior to this change it was reported that many ships were confused by the signal.