Dent Island Light, Heritage lighthouse in Whitsunday Islands, Australia

Dent Island Light is a white lighthouse with a red dome situated on a small island in the Whitsunday group, guiding vessels through the surrounding passage. The tower stands as a navigation marker for ships traveling through this important waterway off the Queensland coast.

Dent Island Light was recommended by Commander George Poynter Heath of the Queensland Marine Board in February 1878, approved that April, and built together with Cape Cleveland Light by John Clark and James Wiseman, completed in December 1879. The light was upgraded in 1925 and 1927, converted to solar power in 1983 and demanned in 1987.

Dent Island Light is listed on the Commonwealth Heritage List, which recognises its place in Queensland's maritime navigation and its timber-frame tower clad in galvanised iron plates. The station also keeps two timber-framed, fibro-clad cottages built in 1960, one two-storeyed with a closed verandah, the other single-level with an open verandah.

The beacon sits on a remote island and is best viewed from the water during a boat tour or marine excursion. Access to the island itself may be restricted, so plan accordingly when visiting the area.

The tower measures only 6 metres from base to lantern, so the clockwork weight mechanism had to be rewound every 75 minutes. The station also keeps two timber-framed, fibro-clad cottages built in 1960, one of them two-storeyed with a closed verandah.