Illuminating tales of WA lighthouses

WA has about 30 lighthouses sprinkled along the coast, from Caffarelli Island in the north to Eclipse Island in the south.

And now fascinating histories of several of them are just a computer stroke away.

ABC Radio has developed audio tours about lighthouses all over Australia. Travellers can download them, take them to the lighthouses and listen to stories about the people who used to live and work in them and the coastlines around them.

WA lighthouses featured include Bathurst lighthouse on Rottnest Island, the Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin lighthouses in the South West, Point Moore lighthouse in Geraldton and the Gantheaume Point lighthouse in Broome.

ABC State editor Clancy McDowell said the audio tours aimed to enrich the experience and build the knowledge of visitors to the lighthouses.

"Our new website and audio tours aim to share the hidden stories behind these functional yet very romantic buildings," she said.

Bathurst lighthouse was built in 1900 after 11 men drowned when the barque City of York sank off Rottnest the year before.