Location | Cooktown Queensland Australia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 15°27′39.00″S145°15′19.1″E / 15.4608333°S 145.255306°E Coordinates: 15°27′39.00″S145°15′19.1″E / 15.4608333°S 145.255306°E |
Tower | |
Foundation | concrete tower |
Construction | timber frame clad with corrugated iron |
Automated | 1927 |
Height | 20 feet (6.1 m) |
Shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings | white tower, red lantern dome |
Power source | mains electricity |
Operator | Australian Maritime Safety Authority |
Heritage | listed on the Queensland Heritage Register |
Light | |
First lit | 1886 |
Focal height | 530 feet (160 m) |
Lens | 4th Order Chance Bros Dioptric |
Range | 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl (2) W 6s. |
Grassy Hill Light, also known as Cooktown Light, is an active lighthouse located on Grassy Hill above Cooktown, Queensland, Australia, on the south side of the entrance to Endeavour River.
Grassy Hill was the site of Lieutenant James Cook landing in 1770. Cooktown was established in October 1873 to accommodate for the Palmer River Gold Rush, and became a thriving port in the 1880s. The first lights in and out of the port were leading lights set on sheds on the wharves. A signal staff was erected on Grassy Hill in 1874 to announce incoming ships, and a cottage was constructed for the signal staff operator in 1878–79. By 1882 a temporary light was set on the hill. In 1883 and 1884, George Poynter Heath, Portmaster of Queensland and Chairman of the Queensland Marine Board at that time, made two reports to the parliament, recommending that the temporary light be replaced with a permanent building and a proper apparatus. [1]
Grassy Hill Light was finally constructed in 1886. It was the second in a group of eight lighthouses in Queensland made of hardwood frame clad with corrugated iron, which includes, by order of establishment Little Sea Hill Light, itself, Goods Island Light, Bay Rock Light, Old Caloundra Light, North Point Hummock Light (demolished), Gatcombe Head Light (demolished) and Bulwer Island Light. [2] The apparatus was a 4th Order fixed Chance Bros Dioptric apparatus, and Heath himself supervised its installation in September 1886. The light source was a kerosene lamp. The light keeper resided in the existing cottage and also maintained a signal staff. [1] [3]
In 1900 a new cottage was constructed for the light keeper. [1] In 1912 a report recommended that the lighthouse be automated, leaving the keeper only the signal duties. However, this recommendation was not to be taken for some time. In 1913 a wireless station was installed nearby and in 1915 the light, alone with all other coastal lights, was transferred to the control of the Commonwealth government. It was only in 1927 the lighthouse was finally automated, the light source was changed to an acetylene gas burner, and the station was demanned. The keeper's house and signal staff were destroyed about that time. [1]
During World War II, from early 1942 to February 1945, a radar station was operated by the 56 Radar Unit, RAAF near the lighthouse. An imitation lighthouse keeper's cottage was constructed for camouflage purposes, [4] and the defensive installations surrounded the station. All structures were removed after the war. [3]
In 1970 a sandstone cairn was placed at the summit of the hill to commemorate the bi-centenary of Cook's survey from the summit. [1]
Control of the lighthouse remained in the hands of the Commonwealth until November 1987, when it was transferred back to the Queensland government, with the Department of Transport operating the light, Cook Shire Council as trustees for the reserve, and local volunteers maintaining the tower. [1]
In 1993 the lighthouse was converted to solar power. [1]
The lighthouse is conical in form, about 6 metres (20 ft) high, constructed of timber clad with corrugated iron sheets, on a concrete base. It is about 3 metres (9.8 ft) diameter at the base. Small rectangular windows are set about mid-height on the south and east sides. Entrance is through a small entry on the western side, with timber-framing, convex corrugated iron roof, and timber double doors. [1] The tower is topped by a balcony supported on timber brackets which has a lightweight balustrade. The cylindrical lantern sits above, capped with a hemispherical dome. [3] Access to the light is via a timber stair. [1] The tower is painted white, with the dome and the concrete base painted red. [5]
The light characteristic shown is two white flashes every six seconds (Fl.(2)W. 6s). It is visible only on a limited sector, 192°-315°, and obscured elsewhere. [6]
The site is managed by the Cook Shire Council. It is accessible by road and parking is also provided. The tower is, however, closed to the public. [5]
Archer Point Light is an active lighthouse on Archer Point, a conical, 60-metre-high (200 ft) grassy headland about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) southeast of Cooktown, Queensland, Australia. Originally an 1883 timber frame lighthouse covered with galvanised iron, it was replaced in 1975 with a modern square concrete equipment room topped with a lantern.
Bay Rock Light is an inactive lighthouse which used to be located on Bay Rock, a rocky islet northwest of Magnetic Island, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. First lit in 1886, it was automated in 1920 and deactivated in the 1980s. It was relocated in 1992 to the Townsville Maritime Museum, where it is now displayed.
Booby Island Light is an active heritage-listed lighthouse located on Booby Island in the Shire of Torres, near the tip of Cape York Peninsula, west of Prince of Wales Island, within the Endeavour Strait, Queensland, Australia. It marks the western entrance to the navigation channel through the Torres Strait. It was the last of the major lights to be constructed along the Queensland coast.
Bulwer Island Light, also known as Bulwer Island Range Rear Light, is an inactive lighthouse that was on Bulwer Island, in the suburb of Pinkenba, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In 1983, it was moved to the Queensland Maritime Museum in South Brisbane.
Bustard Head Light is an active lighthouse located on the southeast tip of Bustard Head, a headland, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Seventeen Seventy, in the Australian state of Queensland, within the Eurimbula National Park and locality of Eurimbula. Built in 1868, it is the second-oldest lightstation in the state, following Cape Moreton Light, and the first to be built in Queensland after its formation in 1859. It is also one of the first in Australia to be constructed using bolted prefabricated segments of cast iron, and one of only two such lighthouses in Queensland, the other being its sibling, Sandy Cape Light. It serves as the central relay for Dent Island Light, Pine Islet Light and Lady Elliot Island Light and as the radio check post for Cape Capricorn Light, Sandy Cape Light and Double Island Point Light.
Sandy Cape Light is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Sandy Cape, the most northern point on K'gari, Queensland, Australia. It stands about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of the northeastern tip of the island. It is the tallest lighthouse in Queensland. Built in 1870, it is the second major lighthouse to be built in Queensland after its formation in 1859. It is one of the first lighthouses in Australia to be constructed using bolted prefabricated segments of cast iron, and one of only two such lighthouses in Queensland, the other being its sibling, Bustard Head Light.
Old Caloundra Light, also known as Old Caloundra Head Light or Cape Caloundra Light, is an inactive lighthouse located in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, Australia. It is the oldest surviving building in Caloundra. The lighthouse was active between 1896 and 1968. The tower was relocated twice. In 1970 it was relocated from its original location to Woorim Park in Caloundra, and in 1999 it was returned to its original site on Canberra Terrace near downtown Caloundra, where it stands today.
New Caloundra Light, also known as New Caloundra Head Light, is an inactive lighthouse located in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, Australia. It stands on Canberra Terrace near downtown Caloundra. The lighthouse was active from 1968 to 1992. It has a unique design resembling an airport control tower, the only surviving example of a lighthouse of this design in Australia.
Sea Hill Lighthouse, also known as Sea Hill Point Light or Little Sea Hill Light, is a lighthouse on the northwest point of Curtis Island, Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. Its purpose was to mark the east side of the entrance to Keppel Bay, on passage to Fitzroy River and Port Alma. The first lighthouse at the locations was constructed in 1873 or 1876, moved in the 1920s, and is now on display at the Gladstone Maritime Museum. A second lighthouse was constructed in 1895 and its state is unclear.
Goods Island Light is an active lighthouse located on the highest point of Goods Island (Palilag), an island in the Torres Strait, belonging to Queensland, Australia. It serves as the rear light of the Goods Island Range, pointing out the entrance to Normanby Sound.
Cape Capricorn Light is an active heritage-listed lighthouse located on Cape Capricorn, a coastal headland on the northeast point of Curtis Island, in Gladstone Region, Central Queensland, Australia. The lighthouse, constructed in 1964, is the third at this site, following a timber frame lighthouse constructed in 1875 and a concrete lighthouse constructed around 1937. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 August 2001.
Cape Moreton Light, also listed as North Point Range Rear Light, is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Cape Moreton, a rocky headland located at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island, a large sand island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. It marks the northern entrance to Moreton Bay and Brisbane and also serves as the rear light for the North Point Range. With its two distinctive red bands, it also serves as a daymark. It is the oldest lighthouse in Queensland, and the only one to be built by the New South Wales Government before the separation of Queensland, which took place in 1859. It is also the only lighthouse in Queensland to be built of stone.
Cape Cleveland Light is an active heritage-listed lighthouse located on the northern tip of Cape Cleveland, a promontory projecting into the Coral Sea west of Cleveland Bay in the locality of Cape Cleveland about 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The lighthouse marks the northern point of the Cape, and the entrance to Cleveland Bay.
Dent Island Light is an active lighthouse on Dent Island, a small island off the coast of Queensland, Australia, part of the Whitsunday Group of the Whitsunday Islands. Located on the southwest tip of the island, the light guides ships navigating the Whitsunday Passage, between Whitsunday Island and the islands to the west, and marks the Dent Island Passage.
Double Island Point Light is an active lighthouse located at the summit of Double Island Point, a coastal headland within the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park. It is located at the southern end of Wide Bay, 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia.
Pine Islet Light, also known as Percy Isles Light, is an active lighthouse located at Pine Islet, a small islet belonging to the Percy Isles group of the Northumberland Islands, about 130 kilometres (81 mi) southeast of Mackay, Queensland, Australia. The original lighthouse, established 1885, was active for a hundred years, until it was deactivated in 1985, by then the last kerosene powered lighthouse in Australia. It was relocated to the Mackay Marina in 1985 and restored to full working condition, making it the last fully functional kerosene operated lighthouse in the world. At the original location now stands a modern fiberglass tower.
North Reef Light is an active lighthouse located on North Reef, a 5.6 square kilometres (2.2 sq mi) planar reef, about 120 kilometres (75 mi) northeast of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia in the Capricorn and Bunker Group. The lighthouse was constructed on a migratory patch of sand inside a fringing coral reef, which over the years disappeared and reappeared, as sand was washed away and accumulated, and is now a vegetated sandy island. Its construction is unique, having a hollow concrete base that both gives it resistance to the shifting nature of the sandbar and serves as a freshwater tank. As such, it is considered one of the major achievement in Australian lighthouse construction. It is also notable in that due to the harsh conditions, only bachelors were allowed to serve as lighthouse keepers. At 24 metres (79 ft) it is also the tallest of Queensland's timber-framed iron clad lighthouses.
Low Isles Light, also known as Low Islets Light or Low Island Light, is an active lighthouse located on Low Island, a coral cay which together with Woody Island forms the Low Isles group, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) northeast of Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia. The island is situated on the western edge of the main shipping channel into the harbour of Port Douglas, and it marks the entrance to the channel. Built in 1878, it was the first lighthouse in Far North Queensland and more specifically the first to light the Inner Passage of the Great Barrier Reef. Its construction is typical to Queensland lighthouses of the time, timber frame clad with galvanized iron, and it is the fourth lighthouse of this type constructed in Queensland, though it is the first of them to use portholes.
Caloundra Lighthouses are a heritage-listed pair of lighthouses at 3 Canberra Terrace, near Arthur Street, Kings Beach, Caloundra, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The first, known as the Old Caloundra Light, was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built in 1896; the second, New Caloundra Light, was built in 1968. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2010.