Cape Moreton Light, Historical lighthouse at Cape Moreton, Australia.
Cape Moreton Light is a sandstone lighthouse on Cape Moreton, a rocky headland at the northeastern tip of Moreton Island. It has a concrete gallery and a cast iron lantern, and is painted with two red bands that serve as a daymark. The tower reaches 23 metres in height.
Cape Moreton Light was designed by Edmund Blacket in 1854 and built by contractor Mark Farrell using prison labour for £15,232, first displayed in February 1857. Alexander Beazeley supervised construction as Foreman of Works; the tower was completed under Alexander Dawson. It is Queensland's oldest lighthouse and the only one built of stone.
The light's name comes from Cape Moreton, the rocky headland at Moreton Island's north-eastern tip. Its two red bands, painted in 1942, make it a daymark that crews recognise without instruments. The station also kept a schoolhouse, opened in 1879, and a post office run by the keepers between 1915 and the early 1920s.
The station stands on Cape Moreton at the northeastern tip of Moreton Island, reached by ferry or water taxi from Brisbane and then by four-wheel drive on sand tracks; a vehicle permit is required. The light remains active and is the rear light of the North Point Range, so check island conditions and tides before setting out.
The lighthouse received its distinctive red bands during World War II to make it more visible to ships during daylight navigation. These markings were a wartime adaptation that continues to define its appearance today.
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