Archer Point Light is an active lighthouse on Archer Point, a conical, grassy

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Joh ...

about southeast of

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. Originally an 1883

timber frame Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

lighthouse covered with galvanised iron, it was replaced in 1975 with a modern square

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...

equipment room topped with a lantern.

History

The station was established in 1883. The original lighthouse was a timber frame lighthouse covered in rolled galvanised iron sheeting, much like Low Isles Light and Flat Top Island Light. It had four floors including the gallery floor, with ladders leading from one floor to the next. Together with a lighthouse on Rocky Island, now disused, the original light served as a lead light between Hope Islands and the mainland to the south, and between some reefs and the mainland to the north. In 1975 the current lighthouse was built, and was automated and electrically operated to begin with. The base of the old lighthouse still exists at the location. The original lenses are now on display at the

Queensland Maritime Museum The Queensland Maritime Museum is located on the southern bank of the Brisbane River just south of the South Bank Parklands and Queensland Cultural Centre precinct of Brisbane, and close to the Goodwill Bridge. The museum was founded in 1971 ...

Current light

The current lighthouse is a square concrete equipment room topped with a lantern. It was the seventh and last of a group of seven concrete towers erected by the Commonwealth between 1964 and 1979. By order of construction the lights were Cape Capricorn Light, New Caloundra Light,

Point Danger Light Point Danger Light, also known as the Captain Cook Memorial Light, is an active lighthouse located on Point Danger, a headland between Coolangatta and Tweed Heads, marking the border between Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. It lay ...

, New Burnett Heads Light,

Fitzroy Island Light Fitzroy Island Light is an inactive lighthouse on Fitzroy Island, a continental island southeast of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It was only active between 1973 and 1992 but, together with Little Fitzroy Island Light, there has been a ligh ...

Point Cartwright Light Point Cartwright Light is an active lighthouse located on Point Cartwright, a point near the mouth of the Mooloolah River, in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia. It marks the entrance to the North West Channel, a deep water channel into Mor ...

and itself. The

light characteristic A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the ch ...

shown is four flashes separated by two seconds, every twenty seconds, White at 153°-276°, 305°-313° and 334°-338°, Green at 276°-305° and 320°-334°, Red at 313°-320° and 338°-358° (Fl.(4)W.R.G. 20s).''List of Lights'' The white sector indicates the clear passage into the channel, while the red and green sectors indicate the ship is outside the channel. The current light source is a 35,000 cd 120

Volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference ( voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). D ...

1000

Watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

Tungsten-halogen bulb A halogen lamp (also called tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, and quartz iodine lamp) is an incandescent lamp consisting of a tungsten filament sealed in a compact transparent envelope that is filled with a mixture of an inert gas and a small ...

, fed from the

mains electricity Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose Alternating current, alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power t ...

, with a

diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel Genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression-i ...

for backup.

Site operation and visiting

The site and the light are operated by the

Australian Maritime Safety Authority Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority ...

. The site is open to the public, accessible by a gravel road, but the tower is closed.

Notes

References

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External links