Real Gabo Island · Photo: Colin Dixon The real Gabo Island
No fiction on this page. Just the island, with sources.
Real
An island and its light
- Gabo Island is about 14 km from Mallacoota and 500 m off the coast of Croajingolong National Park in far-east Victoria. (Parks Victoria)
- The lighthouse was built from the island's own pink granite and completed in 1862. At about 47 m it is the second tallest lighthouse in Australia. (Parks Victoria, Wikipedia)
- An earlier timber lighthouse stood on the island from 1853. The light was automated in 1993. (Wikipedia)
- The island supports highly significant seabird colonies, and little penguins come ashore after dark. Watch for whales, dolphins and seals offshore. (Parks Victoria, Wikipedia)
- Visitors can see ruins, a radar station, a monument to the ship Monumental City and the old cemetery. (Parks Victoria)
Real visits
Visiting the real island
Real accommodation is the historic assistant lighthouse keepers' residence, booked through Parks Victoria, not through this website. Access is weather dependent, by boat from Mallacoota or licensed aircraft from Merimbula.
Check current conditions first. On 1 October 2026 Parks Victoria advised that the island will be closed to public access, with no accommodation bookings, during winter 2027 for conservation works.
Go deeper
- gaboisland.au: an independent factual guide to the island, its keepers and its history.
- Gabo Island in Three Songs (coota.au): Everything Swims to Gabo, The Road Home and The Stone Remembers.
Real 
Panoramas
Nine panoramas of the real island by Colin Dixon.
Photography © Colin Dixon. Not to be reused without permission.