Bay Rock Light is an inactive

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

which used to be located on Bay Rock, a rocky islet northwest of

Magnetic Island Magnetic Island ( Wulguru: ''Yunbenun'') is an island offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville. The island is accessible from Townsvi ...

, about north of

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. First lit in 1886, it was automated in 1920 and deactivated in the 1980s. It was relocated in 1992 to the

Maritime Museum, where it is now displayed.

History

Bay Rock Light was first lit in 1886. It was originally located on Bay Rock, at location , its main use being assisting vessels into a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

station on West Point, Magnetic Island. It also assisted passage into

Cleveland Bay The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relation t ...

or to a main shipping

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

age off Bay Rock. The lighthouse was high, made of a

timber frame Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

clad CLAD may refer to: * Centre de linguistique appliquée de Dakar, the language institute in Dakar, Senegal * Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer * Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development, a certification program for Teaching English as ...

with

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

- annealed

galvanized Galvanization ( also spelled galvanisation) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are coated by submerging them in a bath o ...

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...

sheets. It was the fourth in a group of eight lighthouses made of

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

frame clad with

, which included, by order of establishment

Little Sea Hill Light Sea Hill Light was a lighthouse which was located on the northwest point of Curtis Island, 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 light ...

Grassy Hill Light 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. History Grassy Hill was the site of Lieutenant James Co ...

, Goods Island Light, itself,

Old Caloundra 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. Th ...

North Point Hummock Light North Point Light, also known as North Point Hummock Light, was located on North Point, the most northern point on Moreton Island. North Point Light was constructed in the early 1860s, carrying a large kerosene burner with a reflector. In 1899 ...

(demolished), Gatcombe Head Light (demolished) and

Bulwer Island Light 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 ...

. The original light source was a

Kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

mantle with an intensity of 1,200 cd. Standing at an elevation of , it showed a characteristic of a group of red and white flashes every six seconds (Gr. W.R. 6s) which was visible for for the white flashes and for the red ones. The original lens was a 4th order

dioptric Dioptrics is the branch of optics dealing with refraction, especially by lenses. In contrast, the branch dealing with mirrors is known as ''catoptrics''. Telescopes that create their image with an objective that is a convex lens ( refractors) are ...

. The lighthouse was originally manned, and a small cottage accommodated the keeper and his family. The last keeper was John Albert Edward Lawson. In March 1920 John Lawson was lost at sea when a small fishing boat capsized. This led to the decision to automate the operation of the lighthouse, and it was demanned in 1920.There is some confusion about the year. states "The last keeper left in 1920 and the light was automated in 1930." However, at a table above that, it is stated "Automated: 1920". An explanation made by makes sense only if the light was automated in 1920, leaving some presence, and totally demanned in 1930. The light was converted to an automatic

acetylene gas Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pure for ...

burner (

carbide lamp A carbide lamp or acetylene gas lamp is a simple lamp that produces and burns acetylene (C2H2), which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC2) with water (H2O). Acetylene gas lamps were used to illuminate buildings, as lighthouse beac ...

). During the 1980s the lighthouse was deactivated and replaced with a small fiberglass beacon. The beacon has NGA number 111-10030 and

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

number K3117. It is still active, displaying a characteristic of two white flashes, every eight seconds (Fl.(2)W. 8s). In 1992 the lighthouse was relocated to the Townsville Maritime Museum. The top of the lighthouse was transported with an emergency services helicopter. The lighthouse was restored by

Queensland Transport The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), is a department of the Queensland Government. TMR was formed in April 2009 by merging Queensland Transport and the Department of Main Roads. TMR manages Queensland's 33,000 km state road ...

, and officially opened to the public in September, 2003.

Visiting

The Townsville Maritime Museum is located on the south side of Ross Creek, in Townsville. It is open daily, for a fee.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1886 Lighthouses in Queensland Buildings and structures in Townsville 1886 establishments in Australia

History

Visiting

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography