Bay Rock Light, Historical lighthouse at Bay Rock near Magnetic Island, Australia
Bay Rock Light is an 8-metre timber-framed lighthouse clad in zinc-annealed galvanized corrugated iron sheets, the fourth of eight Queensland lighthouses built to that pattern. It no longer stands on Bay Rock, the islet northwest of Magnetic Island: since 1992 it has been displayed at the Townsville Maritime Museum, on the south side of Ross Creek.
Bay Rock Light was first lit in 1886 on Bay Rock, a rocky islet northwest of Magnetic Island, mainly to guide vessels into the quarantine station on West Point, Magnetic Island. It was automated in 1920 after keeper John Albert Edward Lawson was lost at sea, deactivated in the 1980s and replaced by a fiberglass beacon, and relocated to the Townsville Maritime Museum in 1992.
The structure shows a building method typical of Queensland, with a hardwood frame and corrugated iron covering that was common in the region. This construction style can be found in several similar lighthouses along the coast.
The lighthouse is no longer on its rocky islet: since 1992 it has stood at the Townsville Maritime Museum on the south side of Ross Creek in Townsville. The museum is open daily and charges an admission fee, with discounts for children, seniors and families.
The last keeper, John Albert Edward Lawson, drowned in March 1920 when a small fishing boat capsized; the loss prompted the decision to automate the light that same year. The top of the tower later reached the Townsville Maritime Museum by emergency services helicopter in 1992.
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