Lighthouses of Australia: Queensland's Far North

Queensland, the state at the northeastern corner of Australia, has a long, tropical coastline facing the Coral Sea and fringed by the famous Great Barrier Reef. This coastline ends at Cape York, the northernmost point of the Australian continent. Beyond Cape York, the Torres Strait separates Australia from New Guinea and provides a passage from the Coral Sea (which is part of the Pacific Ocean) to the Arafura Sea (the easternmost arm of the Indian Ocean).

This page includes lighthouses of the Far North region of Queensland, including the Cape York Peninsula and the east coast south through the Cairns area. See Eastern Queensland for lighthouses in the rest of the state.

Coastal lighthouses in Australia are operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), but after automation AMSA transferred many of the station properties to the control of local or state authorities or organizations.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume K of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 111.

General Sources
Lighthouses of Queensland
The section of the Lighthouses of Australia site devoted to Queensland lights.
Lighthouses and Lightvessels in Australia - Queensland
Index to Wikipedia articles; most include photos.
Panoramio - Photos by J. Warnes
Warnes has photos of many of the lighthouses in the Far North.
Lighthouses from the Air - Part 6 and Part 7
Feature articles from the February and March 2002 Lighthouses of Australia Bulletin, including aerial photos of many of the lighthouses.
Around Australia Chasing Lighthouses - Part 2
John Ibbotson's article from the December 2000 Lighthouses of Australia Bulletin, including closeup photos of lighthouses in northern Queensland.
Australian Lighthouses
This site, posted by Kevin Mulcahy, has a comprehensive list of Australian lighthouses and includes good photos of some of them.

Goods Island Light
Goods Island Light, Torres Strait, May 2008
Flickr photo copyright David Denholm; used by permission
Weipa Area (Gulf of Carpentaria) Lighthouses
* Weipa Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 44 m (144 ft); a continuous blue light is shown at night and a continuous white light during the daytime. Round cylindrical metal tower, painted white. A photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Weipa is the largest town on the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula. The surrounding area has large deposits of bauxite, and the port of Weipa ships that mineral from the world's largest bauxite mine. Located beside a road at Evans Landing, on the south side of Weipa. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty K3298.1; NGA 9616.
Duyfken Point (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 49 m (161 ft); white flash every 5 s. 28 m (92 ft) steel skeletal tower. A Fresnel lens formerly used at this station is on display at the Townsville Maritime Museum, and the original lantern is on display at the Macquarie Lighthouse museum near Sydney. No photo available, and the light is nearly hidden by dense forest in Bing's satellite view. This is the landfall light for Weipa. Duyfken Point, on the north side of Albatross Bay, is the first point of Australia discovered by a Western explorer: the Dutch captain Willem Janszoon, in his ship Duyfken, spotted this point in 1606. Located on the cape, about 35 km (22 mi) west of Weipa. Site status unknown. Admiralty K3297; NGA 9596.

Torres Strait Lighthouses
Note: The Torres Strait is about 150 km (75 mi) wide between Cape York and the southern coast of New Guinea. Shallow and difficult to navigate, the strait is also strewn with about 275 islands, 17 of them large enough to be inhabited. Australia has sovereignty over all the islands. The channel used by international shipping, known as the Great Northeast Channel, passes north of Prince of Wales island, off Cape York, and then angles northeastward across the strait to end close to the Papuan coast. Since 2006, Australia has required that ships passing through the strait make use of Australian pilots. The Torres Pilots agency has a map of the route.
Booby Island
1890. Active; focal plane 37 m (120 ft); white flash every 7.5 s. 18 m (59 ft) cast iron tower with lantern and gallery, painted white; dome of lantern painted red. Several 1-story keeper's houses and other buildings, formerly occupied by wildlife service personnel, now incorporated into a Torres Pilots base. A photo by J. Warnes is at right, Winsome Bonham has an aerial photo, John Ibbotson has a closeup photo, and another aerial photo and a view from the sea are available, but nothing of the light is seen in Google's very distant satellite view. Booby Island, located about 50 km (30 mi) west northwest of Cape York, marks the western entrance to the Great Northeast Channel through the Torres Strait. So many ships were wrecked here in the nineteenth century that provisions were kept stocked on the island for wrecked seamen. Located at the highest point of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed; special permission is required to land on the island. Operator: AMSA. Site manager: Queensland National Parks. ARLHS AUS-011; Admiralty K3274; NGA 9620.
Goods (Palilug) Island Range Rear
1886. Active; focal plane 105 m (345 ft); quick-flashing white light. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) wood frame tower covered with galvanized iron sheets, with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted white; dome of lantern painted red. Keeper's houses in ruins. David Denholm's photo is above, Winsome Bonham has an aerial photo, and Google has a distant satellite view of the location. The front range light is a short fiberglass tower; Bonham's photo shows a helipad next to that light. Located atop the rocky island, about 27 km (17 mi) northwest of Cape York and 25 km (16 mi) east of Booby Island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. ARLHS AUS-232; Admiralty K3270.1; NGA 9628.
Dalrymple Islet (Damut Island)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24 m (79 ft); white flash every 5 s. 21 m (69 ft) steel skeletal tower. No photo available, and the tower is not seen in Google's distant satellite view. Dalrymple has a Torres Pilots base and marks the eastern end of the piloted section of the Great Northeast Channel. Located at the west end of a small island in the center of the Torres Strait. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3288; NGA 9708.
Bramble Cay (2)
1954 (station established 1924). Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); four white flashes, separated by 2.5 s, every 15 s. 19 m (62 ft) square stainless steel skeletal tower, painted white. A sunset photo and a distant view are available, and there's a photo taken from atop the tower, but the tower is not seen in Google's satellite view. The University of Queensland has a photo of the original lighthouse, a square cylindrical skeletal tower. This is Australia's northernmost aid to navigation, standing in latitude 9°08.5' S. The light tower marks the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef and the eastern entrance to the Great Northeast Channel. Located in the Gulf of Papua about 230 km (140 mi) northeast of Cape York. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. ARLHS AUS-280; Admiralty K3292; NGA 9712.
Booby Island Light
Booby Island Light, Torres Strait, November 2007
Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by J. Warnes
East Cay
2000-01. Active; focal plane 32 m (105 ft); white flash every 10 s. 31 m (102 ft) structure; in NGA's description this includes a "red fiberglass tower, on metal framework tower, on 4-piled structure with helipad connected by walkway." A 2011 photo of this unusual lighthouse is available. This light marks the beginning of the approach to the Torres Strait from the Coral Sea. Located on a reef about 50 km (30 mi) southeast of Bramble Cay. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3290; NGA 9714.

Cape York Area Lighthouses
Note: Named by Capt. James Cook in 1770, Cape York is the northernmost point of the Australian continent and represents the northeastern corner of the country. The cape is quite remote, being 750 km (470 mi) north of the paved highway at Lakeland, but it is accessible to 4WD vehicles during the dry season (May through November).
Eborac Island (Cape York)
1921. Active; focal plane 39 m (127 ft); two flashes, separated by 2 s, every 10 s; the light shown is white, green, or red depending on direction. 6 m (20 ft) square cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. Helipad nearby. A photo by J. Warnes is at right, John Benwell also has a 2007 photo, Winsome Bonham has an aerial photo, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse guides ships into the northern end of the protected coastal channel, inside the Great Barrier Reef. Located atop a rocky island just off Cape York. Accessible only by boat but visible from the point of Cape York, which can be reached by 4WD. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. ARLHS AUS-189; Admiralty K3256; NGA 9724.
Albany Rock
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 30 m (99 ft); flash every 5 s, white, red, or green depending on direction. 6 m (20 ft) square cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. A distant view is available (a little more than halfway down the page), the University of Queensboro has a closeup historic photo, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse is very similar to the Eborac Island Light. Located about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Cape York. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. ARLHS AUS-002; Admiralty K3254; NGA 9728.
Wyborn Reef (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (70 ft); four flashes every 20 s, white or red depending on direction. 21 m (70 ft) square stainless steel skeletal tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on four concrete piles. Lantern painted white. Pilings of a former lighthouse nearby. Winsome Bonham has an aerial photo, Wikimedia has an aerial photo by J. Warnes, cropped from a larger aerial photo, Warnes also has a closeup of the lantern and lens, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a reef about 16 km (10 mi) southeast of Albany Rock. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. ARLHS AUS-283; Admiralty K3252; NGA 9732.
Eborac Island Light
Eborac Island Light, Cape York, November 2007
Panoramio Creative Commons photo by J. Warnes
Cairncross Islets
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 21 m (69 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, painted red; the small lantern is painted white. Winsome Bonham has an aerial photo, and Google has a satellite view. Cairncross is a small island about 15 km (9 mi) offshore and 100 km (60 mi) southeast of Cape York. Located on the northwestern tip of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3250; NGA 9736.
Hannibal Islands
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); two white flashes every 8 s. 22 m (72 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, painted red. Winsome Bonham has an aerial photo, and Google has a very distant satellite view. Located on an island at the northeastern corner of the Hannibal Reef, about 50 km (30 mi) north of Cape Grenville. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3248; NGA 9740.
[Raine Island Beacon]
1844. Never lit as a lighthouse, but the tower functions as a daybeacon. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round 4-stage stone tower. A photo is at right, and Paul Sutherland has photos, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. The oldest European structure in tropical Australia, the beacon was built by convict labor at the order of the British Admiralty. It marks a dangerous passage through the Great Barrier Reef, known as the Raine Island Passage or as the Pandora Passage after HMS Pandora, which wrecked nearby on 29 August 1791 after participating in the search for HMS Bounty. The island is the world's largest nesting site for endangered green turtles. The Raine Island Corporation, which manages research activities on the island, restored the tower in 1994. Located atop the island, on the Great Barrier Reef about 120 km (75 mi) east northeast of Cape Grenville. Accessible only by boat or helicopter. Site and tower closed to the public (wildlife reserve). Owner: Queensland National Parks (Raine Island National Park). Site manager: Raine Island Corporation. ARLHS AUS-141.

Raine Island Beacon
Queensland Parks and Wildlife photo

Cape Grenville and Cape Melville Area Lighthouses
Clerke Island (Cape Grenville) (2)
2006 (station established 1990) . Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); flash every 2.5 s, white or red depending on direction. 21 m (69 ft) hexagonal cylindrical fiberglass tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. AMSA's photo is at right. The new lighthouse replaced the skeletal tower seen in Winsome Bonham's aerial photo. The tower is not seen in Google's distant satellite view. Located on the easternmost of the Home Islands, a group of islands lying just off the point of Cape Grenville. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3244; NGA 9744.
Chapman Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18 m (59 ft); flash every 5 s, white or red depending on direction. 14 m (46 ft) skeletal tower mounted on a concrete platform supported by piles. A helipad is on an adjoining platform. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on a reef about 12 km (7.5 mi) northeast of Lockhart River, the northernmost town on the east coast of Queensland. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3236; NGA 9776.
Waterwitch Reef
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18 m (59 ft); four white flashes every 20 s. 19 m (62 ft) skeletal tower mounted on a concrete platform supported by piles. A helipad is on an adjoining platform. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on a reef about 16 km (10 mi) south of Chapman Island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3234; NGA 9780.
Hannah Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24 m (79 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 23 m (75 ft) skeletal tower, painted red. No photo available; Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on an island at the northwestern entrance to Princess Charlotte Bay. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3228; NGA 9800.
Pipon Islands
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); three flashes every 15 s, white or red depending on direction. 25 m (82 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. A very distant view (last photo on the page) is available, but Google has only a very distant satellite view. This lighthouse guides vessels through a narrow passage around the point of Cape Melville. Located on the southwest side of the Pipon Reef, about 5 km (3 mi) northwest of the cape. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3224; NGA 9820.
Clerke Island Light
Clerke Island Light, Cape Grenville, 2006
Australian Maritime Safety Authority photo
Coquet Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); white flash every 5 s. 22 m (72 ft) skeletal tower, painted red. No photo available, but Google has a distant satellite view. Located on an island about 80 km (50 mi) southeast of Cape Melville. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3219; NGA 9840.

Cooktown Area Lighthouses
Note: Cooktown is the northernmost town on the Pacific coast of Queensland. It is named for Capt. James Cook, who spent seven weeks here in 1770 repairing his ship Endeavour. The town was founded after gold was discovered nearby in 1872. The current population is about 2300.
Three Isles
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 24 m (79 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, painted red. There's a view from the sea (halfway down the page) taken in October 2011 while parks and wildlife staff were burning scrub on the island. Google has a satellite view. Located at the northeastern tip of a small island about 16 km (10 mi) off the coast and 50 km (30 mi) north northeast of Cooktown. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty K3214; NGA 9864.
* Grassy Hill (Cooktown)
1886. Active; focal plane 162 m (530 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 6 m (20 ft) wood frame tower covered with galvanized iron sheets, with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted white; lantern dome is red. Lighthouse prefabricated in England. The keeper's houses where demolished after the lighthouse was automated in 1927. Pieter Wijtzes's photo is at right, Beck Lee has a 2008 photo, and Bing has a satellite view. The lighthouse may have been deactivated for a time around 1990 before being restored through efforts of the Cooktown Lions Club. It was repainted in 2010, as seen in Joel Mulligan's photo. Grassy Hill is a municipal park including the lighthouse and a monument to Captain James Cook, who beached his ship Endeavour here for repairs in 1770 after it was damaged on the Great Barrier Reef. It was on Grassy Hill that Captain Cook's crew had the first European encounter with kangaroos. Located on the south side of the entrance to the Endeavour River in Cooktown, the northernmost port of the Queensland coast. Accessible by road; parking provided. Site open, tower closed. Operator: Maritime Safety Queensland. Site manager: Cook Shire Council. ARLHS AUS-083; Admiralty K3208; NGA 9868.
* Archer Point (2)
1979 (station established 1883). Active; focal plane 65 m (213 ft); four flashes, separated by 2 s, every 20 s; flashes are red, white, or green depending on direction. 6 m (19 ft) square concrete equipment room with lantern. Building unpainted; lantern painted white. Lighthouses of Australia has a page for the lighthouse, Mark Maupin has a good closeup photo, and Bing has a satellite view of the station. The original lighthouse was one of the many galvanized iron towers similar to the Low Isles lighthouse (next entry). The original lens is on display at the Queensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane. Located on a headland about 14 km (9 mi) southeast of Cooktown. Accessible by a gravel road 12 km (7.5 km) off the main road to Cooktown. Site open, tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. ARLHS AUS-182; Admiralty K3200; NGA 9888.
Grassy Hill Lighthouse
Grassy Hill Light, Cooktown, December 2005
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Pieter Wijtzes

Port Douglas and Cairns Area Lighthouses
Note: Cairns is the metropolis of northern Queensland, with a population of about 150,000. Founded in 1876, the city was a major Allied base during World War II and has become an important center of tourism in recent years.
Low Isles
1878 (W.P. Clark). Active; focal plane 20 m (65 ft); white flash every 10 s; also a directional light displayed to the southeast, white, red or green depending on direction, 1 s on, 1 s off. 18 m (60 ft) wood frame tower covered by galvanized iron sheets, with lantern and gallery; solar-powered lens. Lighthouse painted white; lantern dome is red. Two modern keeper's houses (1960s). The assistant keeper's house is now the Low Isles Research Station of the University of Queensland. A portion of Steve Stringer's 2008 photo is at right, Wikipedia has a good article on the lighthouse, Peter Nijenhuis has a view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view. Steve Irwin (the Crocodile Hunter), Australia's famous wildlife expert and television personality, was killed on a dive just off the Low Isles in September 2006. The Low Isles Preservation Society works for preservation of the light station. Located on a small island of the Great Barrier Reef, about 13 km (8.5 mi) northeast of Port Douglas, marking the shipping channel to the port. Accessible only by boat; tours from Cairns and Port Douglas are available. Site open, tower closed. Operator: AMSA. Site managers: Queensland National Parks (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park) and University of Queensland (Centre for Marine Studies). ARLHS AUS-102; Admiralty K3194; NGA 9896.
Island Point (Port Douglas) (1)
1879. Inactive since 1997. Approx. 7 m (23 ft) square cylindrical tower with lantern, painted white; lantern roof is red. A 2011 photo is available, Annette Flotwell has a closeup photo from the rear, and Bing has a satellite view. Located on the headland on the east side of the harbor entrance in Port Douglas. Site open but not easy to find, tower closed. Site manager unknown. ARLHS AUS-191.
Island Point (Port Douglas) (2)
1997 (station established 1879). Active; focal plane 90 m (295 ft); four flashes, white or red depending on direction, every 20 s. 26 m (85 ft) skeletal tower. John Ibbotson has a photo of the area (ninth photo in the article) showing the old lighthouse nearly disappeared in tropical vegetation and the new light on its skeletal tower nearby. Site status unknown. Admiralty K3186; NGA 9900
Euston Reef
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); four white flashes every 20 s. 16 m (52 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. This light marks an entrance through the Great Barrier Reef for vessels bound for Cairns. Located on a reef just outside the main line of the barrier, about 120 km (75 mi) east northeast of Cairns. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3166; NGA 9948.
Low Isles Light
Low Isles Light, Great Barrier Reef, March 2008
Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Steve Stringer
* Fitzroy Island (2)
1973 (station established 1943). Inactive since 1992. 17 m (56 ft) octagonal tile-covered tower with lantern and gallery. Several keeper's houses and other buildings are preserved. A 2007 closeup is available, John Ibbotson also has a good closeup photo, a distant view is available, and Google has a satellite view. A light station was established on nearby Little Fitzroy Island in 1929. During World War II this light was supplemented by a light on Fitzroy Island. The Little Fitzroy light was deactivated when the lighthouse was built in 1973, but then in 1992 it was decided to retire the lighthouse and move the active light back to Little Fitzroy once again. The lighthouse is now a national park visitor center. Located atop one of the summits of a rugged island about 6 km (4 mi) off the coast of Cape Grafton, east of Cairns. The island is accessible by ferry from Cairns; the lighthouse is accessible by a hike of 3.6 km (2.25 mi) round trip. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: Queensland National Parks (Fitzroy Island National Park). ARLHS AUS-074; Admiralty K3168.
Russell Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 76 m (249 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 17 m (56 ft) square skeletal tower, painted red. No photo available, but Bing has a satellite view. Located atop the highest of the Frankland Islands, a small group about 40 km (25 mi) north of Innisfail. There is a campground on the island, and transportation is available. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Operator: AMSA. Site manager: Queensland National Parks (Frankland Group National Park). Admiralty K3162; NGA 9964.
Brook Islands
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 52 m (171 ft); four white flashes every 16 s. 15 m (49 ft) skeletal tower. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on the southeasternmost of a short chain of islands off the north coast of Hinchinbrook Island, about 50 km (30 mi) northeast of Cardwell. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Operator/site manager: AMSA. Admiralty K3132; NGA 10000.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

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Adjoining pages: North: Papua New Guinea | South: Queensland's East Coast | West: Northern Territory

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Posted July 6, 2004; checked and revised April 18, 2013. Lighthouses: 28. Site copyright 2013 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.