Sea Hill Lighthouse, also known as Sea Hill Point Light or Little Sea Hill Light, is a

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

on the northwest point of Curtis Island,

Gladstone Region Gladstone Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The council covers an area of , had an estimated resident population at 30 June 2018 of 62,979, and has an estimated operating budget of A$84 million. History Gladstone Re ...

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. Its purpose was to mark the east side of the entrance to

Keppel Bay Keppel Bay is a bay in Central Queensland, Australia at the mouth of the Fitzroy River on the coast of the Coral Sea. Extent Keppel Bay extends from Station Point on Curtis Island () in the Gladstone Region to Zilzie Point at Zilzie () i ...

, on passage to Fitzroy River and Port Alma. The first lighthouse at the locations was constructed in 1873 or 1876, moved in the 1920s, and is now on display at the

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

Maritime Museum. A second lighthouse was constructed in 1895 and its state is unclear.

History

First lighthouse

The need for a lighthouse at this location was identified in 1864. The first lighthouse, constructed in 1873 or 1876, was the first in Queensland of its design, made of a

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

clad with

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America) and occasionally abbreviated CGI is a bu ...

. This design was then used in seven more lighthouses, by order of establishment, Grassy Hill Light, Goods Island Light,

Bay Rock Light Bay Rock Light is an inactive lighthouse which used to be located on Bay Rock, a rocky islet northwest of Magnetic Island, about north of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. First lit in 1886, it was automated in 1920 and deactivated in the 1 ...

, Old Caloundra Light,

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 ...

. With the installation of the second lighthouse in 1895 it became the front light in the

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

. In the 1920s, the lighthouse was relocated to Station Point, about northeast. It stood there until it was deactivated in the 1960s and then sold into private hands. It is currently on display at the Gladstone Maritime Museum at . The lighthouse is rather short, only in height. Unlike the other seven Queensland lighthouse towers of the corrugated iron clad type, it is hexagonal in plan, rather than round. A gallery and a lantern top the tower, and much like other Queensland lighthouses, it is painted white with a red dome.

Second lighthouse

The second lighthouse was constructed in 1895 and for a while served as the rear light in the range. It is a , timber framed

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc 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 periodi ...

- annealed, corrugated iron clad tower, with a lantern and a balcony. The original optical apparatus was a 4th order fixed lens with kerosene wick burner. In 1930 the light was converted to an open flame

acetylene gas Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is the 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 ...

burner, with sun valve and flasher, which operated at least until 1975. By 1977 the original lens had been removed and a solar powered Tideland ML-300 electric beacon installed. A

pilot station Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000. Geography Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of t ...

was established on the foreshore nearby in 1919 and was closed in 1963. The current state of the lighthouse is unclear. There are reports that the lighthouse was deactivated in 2006. While there were reports that it was demolished in early 2009, other reported that it was standing in 2014. The 2018 ''

List of Lights A list of lights is a publication describing lighthouses and other aids to maritime navigation. Most such lists are published by national hydrographic offices. Some nations, including the United Kingdom and the United States, publish lists that ...

'' lists a light at the location, with a focal plane of , displaying a

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 cha ...

of two white flashes every six seconds (Fl.(2)W. 6s).''List of Lights''

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1876 Lighthouses in Queensland Gladstone Region 1876 establishments in Australia Queensland Heritage Register History of transport in Queensland

History

First lighthouse

Second lighthouse

See also

Notes

References