Fitzroy Island 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 ...

on Fitzroy Island, a

continental island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

southeast of

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

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 ...

. It was only active between 1973 and 1992 but, together with Little Fitzroy Island Light, there has been a light station in the area since 1929.

History

The first station in the area was established on nearby Little Fitzroy Island in 1929, to warn ships in the Grafton Passage of the reefs around the island. The station on Fitzroy Island was established in 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, to supplement the Little Fitzroy Island Light. The

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

shown by the 1943 light was unique in Australia, and perhaps in the world, in that the characteristic seen (and not just the light colour) was dependent on the direction, corresponding to different

Morse code Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...

signals. In the direction 217°, the middle of the channel, it showed a group of four flashes every 16 seconds. North of that direction, the first two flashes looked like a single long flash, resulting in one long flash followed by two short flashes, i.e. a Morse code "D" (go down). South of 217°, it would show two short flashes followed by a long flash, i.e. a Morse code "U" (go up). That was achieved by using two synchronised rotating bullseye lens panels, which had been taken from the first-order lens formerly at

Cape Northumberland Lighthouse List of state heritage places in the District Council of Grant is a list of sites in the Australian state of South Australia known as state heritage places which are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register and are located within th ...

. In 1973, the present Fitzroy Island lighthouse was constructed, being the fifth of a group of seven

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

towers erected in Queensland between 1964 and 1979. In order of construction, they were Cape Capricorn Light, New Caloundra Light, Point Danger Light,

New Burnett Heads Light The New Burnett Heads Light, also known as South Head Light, is an active lighthouse standing on the south side of the Burnett River entrance, in Burnett Heads, Queensland, Australia. In 1971 it replaced the Old Burnett Heads Light, which was r ...

, Fitzroy Island Light,

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 Moreton ...

and

Archer Point Light Archer Point Light is an active lighthouse on Archer Point, a conical, grassy headland about 29km southeast of Cooktown, Queensland, Australia. Originally an 1883 timber frame lighthouse covered with galvanised iron, it was replaced in 1975 w ...

. At that same time, the Little Fitzroy Island Light was deactivated. The light source was an array of

sealed beam A parabolic aluminized reflector lamp (PAR lamp or simply PAR) is a type of electric lamp that is widely used in commercial, residential, and transportation illumination. It produces a highly directional beam. Usage includes theatrical lighti ...

lamps. In 1992, the Fitzroy Island lighthouse was deactivated, and Little Fitzroy Island Light made active again after a re-build. The lighthouse on Fitzroy Island served as a visitor centre for the Fitzroy Island National Park, however, is now closed to the public.

Structures

The lighthouse is octagonal in form, topped with a lantern and a gallery. It is made of concrete and covered with tiles, much like Point Cartwright Light and New Burnett Heads Light. The site also includes several preserved

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

cottages and auxiliary buildings.

Site operation and visiting

Fitzroy Island is accessible by ferry from Cairns, and the lighthouse is a hike from the ferry landing. The site is open, although the tower is closed to the public. It is operated by the

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is a business division of the Department of Environment and Science within the Government of Queensland. The division’s primary concern is with the management and maintenance of Protected areas ...

as part of the

Fitzroy Island National Park Fitzroy Island National Park is a gazetted protected area covering Fitzroy Island, in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Fitzroy Island (also called Koba or Gabar), is a continental island located east of Cairns on the mainland. T ...

. The lamp from the last lighthouse is on display at the Cairns Historical Society Museum.

Notes

References

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External links