Caloundra Lighthouses

Two structures which once dominated the landscape of the seaside resort of Caloundra are now hard to find amongst the high-rise apartments on Canberra Terrace. The earliest lighthouse, timber framed and clad in corrugated iron, dates to 1896, when the North West channel from Caloundra Head along the eastern shore of Bribie Island into Moreton Bay was identified as the safest. The 1896 light keeper’s cottage served as the first school and post and telegraph office. Improvements to the light apparatus in 1910 meant it was the brightest on the Queensland coast. It also became symbolic of Caloundra as a bourgeoning tourist resort in the early 20th century, with Lighthouse Hill a popular lookout. During WWII, the Royal Australian Navy established an observation post within the lighthouse grounds, converting it to mains electricity, negating the services of a light keeper. In 1968 a new combination signal, radar and light tower was erected and the old lighthouse was relocated to South Golden Beach. However, the new lighthouse had a short working life and was usurped by the 1978 Point Cartwright light at Mooloolaba. The original lighthouse was re-instated at Canberra Terrace in 1999. The ‘Friends of Caloundra Lighthouses’ operate fortnightly tours.