The lighthouse is Port Adelaide’s icon. It stands at the end of Commercial Road marking the place where the city meets the Port River.

Visitors can climb the seventy-four steps and take in the views of Port Adelaide, the coast and back past the city to the Mount Lofty Ranges.

The lighthouse was first lit in 1869 and originally stood at the entrance to the Port River. It was prefabricated in England from iron plates and shipped in pieces. It replaced the lightship Fitzjames which had been moored at the mouth of the Port River to mark the entrance to the harbour.

The lighthouse was dismantled and relocated in 1901. The lantern was installed in a lighthouse on Wonga Shoal, which is off Semaphore Jetty. The iron structure was re-erected on South Neptune Island with a new lantern and served there until 1985. The lighthouse was restored and re-assembled on its current site in 1986.