How did Gabo get its name? White pioneers asked the aborigines what they called the lonely outcrop of land and the obliging natives gave
it the name that they had heard the local sealers and whalers call it, that is Cape Howe. The pioneers interpreted this as Gabo. So there you are.

As with its sister lighthouse, Green Cape, the builders who under took the building of the lighthouse went broke and eventually it was built out of magnificent granite blocks cut from quarries on the island. The houses on the island are also made from granite blocks and give the whole edifice and attendant building an indomitable appearance despite the blast of southern winds.