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as anal about their records. The handwriting varies, suggesting the other men, perhaps even their wives, are doing the recording. It’s hard to tell. The captain initialled his entries but now some are initialled and some are anonymous. There are notes scrawled in the margins—were they writing from memory rather than as things happened?
    Then a new head keeper arrives on the supply ship and the log changes again. Captain Stanley Llewellyn is a single man and an ex–navy officer who sounds like he’s used to being in command.
    N OVEMBER 25
Commenced with moderate breeze S by SE. Cloudy until 4am. At 8 a large vessel sighted to the NE. At 10 the Yatala arrived. Sent Mr Sutton to greet it.
    SL (Head keeper)—After Mr Sutton and I hauled my gear from the jetty to the light station and stowed it at the cottage, I met with all the keepers and their families. I spoke of the importance of being able to rely on and trust each other implicitly and how, in such an isolated outpost of Her Majesty’s Empire, we all had to pull together or our small community would crumble.
    Captain Wilton’s daughter, Miss Lily, asked if she could remain at the Cape as she has no family closer than Bristol and little money to pay for passage. She said she would happily undergo training as an underkeeper and work as hard as any man.
    I said the Marine Board would likely oppose any official appointment but I would be willing to make a recommendation on her behalf, subject to her trial performance in the role. I put it to a vote that Miss Wilton remain at the Cape. With the exception of Mrs Bellows, all were in favour.
    I then asked Mr and Mrs Bellows to accommodate Miss Wilton in one of their spare rooms, as the Sutton cottage is overflowing and it would not be appropriate for the unfortunate girl to live with a bachelor. Under the gaze of their peers, Mr and Mrs Bellows acquiesced. I adjusted their oil rations accordingly.
    Throughout this twenty-four hours, light winds from the SE and a dark gloomy sky.
    The new captain is more descriptive in his writing—and more long-winded. I flip ahead in the log, hoping for, I don’t know, anything other than weather and shipping notes.
    D ECEMBER 17
Commenced with squally weather and showers. Put out the light at 5.45am. Employed throughout today polishing the lantern.
    Miss Wilton is proving to be a true helpmate; I have assigned her to caring for the horses. She also brings meals to those manning the light— and often stays to keep me company while I work. Indeed, she spends very little time with the Bellows. I concede her living arrangement isn’t ideal—but a necessity in the absence of alternative accommodation.
    D ECEMBER 18
Commenced with fog so thick that it clings to your skin. None of the underkeepers recalls conditions such as these. We keep the light on twenty-four hours. It is barely visible from the cottages, so I fear for anyone at sea.
    D ECEMBER 19
Still the fog cloaks us. Mr Bellows grumbled about working extra hours to keep the light burning but I said that we had a duty to any poor souls lost in this ghostly veil. At change of shift I overheard Mrs Bellows stating to her husband that the fog is the work of the Devil.
    D ECEMBER 20
At midnight, a gale from the SSW. Rain squalls and hail. Visibility extremely poor. When Miss Wilton delivered my supper, we remarked upon the eerie sensation that there are voices wailing in the wind. I am glad of her companionship this fearsome night. I surveyed the horizon for lights but saw naught in the haze. I gave a prayer that no vessels were at the mercy of these tempestuous conditions.
    D ECEMBER 21
Commenced with wind gusts from SSE. Extinguished the light at 8.25am. Employed in lantern maintenance. At 11am, Mr Sutton’s lad returned from fishing at the Point and reported signs of a wreck. I ordered all hands, except Mr Bellows, who was on duty, to search for survivors. We located various timbers, a