It may be a lonely job but being a light-housekeeper is about as labour of love for Leo and Den Brouw. For the last 25-years, he has been the care-taker of the beacon on Gabo Island, off the coast of east Gippsland. But the feeling is bittersweet, as Leo’s time to hand over the key’s fast approaches.
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00:00It's an island full of life, but it's only ever been home to a lucky few.
00:08I'm only one page in a 150-year-old history book.
00:12Yeah, hi Peter.
00:13Leo Opdenbrau has spent a quarter of a century caring for Gabo Island and its famous lighthouse.
00:19Well, we're sort of stuck out in the ocean, so we see a lot of marine life.
00:23Leo's companions include whales, sea eagles and one of the world's largest colonies of little penguins.
00:29When I first came here, there were up to 30,000 pairs and very few seals.
00:35And in more recent years, it's dropped right down.
00:37Penguin numbers have greatly reduced, maybe 10,000 or so.
00:41And the seal population has increased significantly.
00:44Leo has loved life on the island, including the isolation.
00:48But it's time to hand over the keys.
00:50I feel sort of sad to be leaving the place because I thought I'd be here
00:54until they dragged me off kicking or screaming or in a box.
00:57But time moves on and I've got this young bloke who's pretty interested and very keen.
01:02That young bloke is Sandy Duffy, and he's well aware of the historic role he's taken on.
01:08I'm hoping eventually to find a beautiful rhythm to tie in with Gabo's rhythm.
01:13There's a huge responsibility and a lot of it is self-driven.
01:18A burden of responsibility that he says is also a blessing.
01:22I kind of had this dream of if this job ever came up, I was definitely applying for it.
01:26And I've been so lucky and feel very privileged to have this job now.
01:31The Gabo Island Lighthouse has been a constant beacon for the local community
01:35for almost two centuries.
01:37And it's the job now of a new generation of caretakers to preserve this landmark
01:41and this island for the future.
01:43Well, the island to me is a really important part of Australian non-Indigenous history.
01:48And I'd like to see it kept in good order and accessible to the average Australian.
01:53I'm really passionate about the history.
01:55I think that's the stuff that's really important.
01:57A legacy to honour.