Scottish Man Secures Lighthouse Keeper Role on Remote Australian Island

A man from Scotland has secured what he describes as his “dream job” as a lighthouse keeper on a secluded Australian island. Sandy Duthie, aged 42, eagerly accepted the opportunity after the preceding lighthouse keeper opted for retirement following 25 years of service on Gabo Island, situated off the Victorian coast. Originally from Aberdeenshire, Sandy traveled to Australia five years prior with his partner and has remained there since. Upon visiting the compact island, home to the lighthouse, he recognized a desire to eventually contribute to its legacy. His new position as lighthouse keeper and island caretaker entails spending half of each year on the island, following a rotation of one month on and one month off, accompanied by a penguin colony. Sandy originates from Kirkton of Durris, located close to Banchory. Prior to becoming an arborist, he pursued studies in ecology at the University of Aberdeen. In 2019, he traveled to Mallacoota with his partner, Brodie Gaudion, on an initial three-month holiday visa to meet her family for the first time, ultimately choosing to stay. His initial visit to Gabo Island occurred two years ago, sparking a desire to one day serve as its caretaker. The Gabo lighthouse itself was constructed over 160 years ago. The former keeper, Leo op den Brouw, 70, had spent every alternate month in solitude on the island for the preceding 25 years. His decision to return to family life on the mainland earlier this year created the vacancy, which Sandy filled with the government organization Parks Victoria. He shares the month-on and month-off rotation with another keeper, who has been employed there for 16 years. Sandy, along with his substantial beard, which he has grown over many years and believes might have been an asset during the job interview, commenced his new role in March. Access to and from the island is facilitated by a small boat charter. The journey typically lasts approximately 30 minutes, weather permitting, as conditions are frequently rough, and whales are often present in the vicinity. Sandy’s initial encounter with Gabo Island occurred during a two-week visit for weed control tasks. “It felt like home immediately, it felt very much like the north east of Scotland,” he explained. “The foliage – it’s pretty scrubby – and the granite is unlike any other part of Australia that I’ve seen. I fell immediately in love with the place.” “I asked the caretaker then how he got he job and he told me it was just luck at the right place and the right time. And since then he retired and I applied for the job – right place, right time.” “The job does not come up very often.” He characterized Gabo Island as small yet possessing “amazing” wildlife. He stated, “We have little penguins – a large colony of them.” “We have whales, sea eagles and seals. We have whales go past constantly at the moment.” “I saw around 15 or 16 today. Sometimes there are 30 or 40 a day.” Sandy remarked that the role itself resembles a way of life. “You have to really get with the rhythm of what you have to do and not put too much expectation or planning because Gabo Island has a way of flipping round whatever plans you have.” “You have to be able to problem-solve. Our range of tasks run from weather observations every six hours to cleaning the public toilets, painting everything – we have 80% humidity with salt air so everything rusts and corrodes and it all needs looked after.” “There’s a lot of ongoing maintenance that needs to be done to the house.” “You just have to expect the unexpected.” He indicated that while the job was ideal for him, it also presented challenges. Sandy stated, “There’s enough difference to keep your mind busy all the time.” “I quite enjoy my own company. I do also enjoy the company of others. My partner comes to visit.” “Don’t get me wrong, there are some days where it seems like a prison sometimes.” “The previous caretaker described it as Alcatraz the rock. You can’t leave, go to family events if you’re here. Sometimes we get stuck on here for days on end because of the weather.” “But at the same time you can basically write your own script of the day and go about your duties.” He noted that while a loss of phone signal can be challenging, there is little else he misses. He mentioned that provisions might become scarce if a boat delivery is delayed. “But the other side of it is when I get back to the mainland, something I’ve found is having to be super cautious about being in a crowd of people.” “If you’ve been here for weeks by yourself and not seen another face it’s quite intimidating going to the pub or going to an event.” He has also uncovered additional Scottish connections to Gabo Island. Sandy clarified, “The pink granite on Gabo is very hard compared to other Australian granite.” “Documents I’ve found suggest the person in charge of building the lighthouse in 1859 actually sought Scottish stonemasons, in particular ones who had worked on the Aberdeen and Peterhead lighthouses, as they were used to working with such a hard material.” “Unfortunately we don’t know much more about who built the lighthouse though.” “There’s a book about all of the caretakers who have been on the island since 1859, and a lot of them are Scottish – people from the Highlands and Islands, Perth, Edinburgh, Glasgow and from the north east too.” “It’s really incredible the Scottish connection here.” “It is 100% a dream job. For me it’s perfect.”