Up Mildura way, a belligerent satellite navigation beam dangerously lures unsuspecting drivers into the desert. Local police often rescue lost travellers from remote dusty tracks.

I thought of this today when I came across this lighthouse at Cape Clear, after trusting my car sat-nav to guide me down to seaside Warrnambool. 

Confused, I thought I was inland, on the other side of Ballarat, but perhaps the Great God of Satellite Navigation directed me to some unknown coastal promontory? 

Cape Clear is a one-horse town with a population of 125, but I would think that’s an overestimate.

The settlement hasn’t got much going for it – there is a general store, a small school and a pub. But the pub, a grand 1930s affair, is now closed. 

Despite its name and lighthouse, Cape Clear is 100 km inland from the coast.

During the gold rush, this was a vibrant place with 25,000 miners arriving to try their luck at prospecting. Many were Irish gold miners who originated from Cape Clear in Ireland.

With the gold dug up, the miners moved on, but the name stuck.

In 2008 the locals wanted to put Cape Clear back on the map. They decided to build a 13-meter-high model lighthouse across the road from the pub. The light actually works ‒ just the thing to confuse an unsuspecting driver passing through.