Opened with great ceremony by John Forrest in 1895 the lighthouse is located on the headland of Cape Leeuwin the most south-westerly point on the mainland of the Australian Continent, in the state of Western Australia. The young Felix von Luckner, later a German WWI war hero noted for his long voyage on the Seeadler (Sea Eagle) during which he captured 14 enemy ships, was briefly assistant lighthouse keeper, a job he abandoned when discovered with his hotel keeper's daughter by her father.