Archer Point Light is an active lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 located on Archer Point, a conical, 60 metres (196.9 ft), grassy headland

Headland

A headland is a point of land, usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends out into a body of water.Headland can also refer to:*Headlands and bays*headLand, an Australian television series...

, about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) southeast of Cooktown, Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Originally an 1883 timber frame

Timber framing

Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...

 lighthouse, covered with galvanised iron, it was replaced in 1975 with a modern square concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 equipment room, topped with a lantern.

History

The station was established in 1883. The original lighthouse was a timber frame lighthouse, covered in rolled galvanised iron sheeting, much like Low Isles Light

Low Isles Light

Low Isles Light, also known as Low Islets Light or Low Island Light, is an active lighthouse located on Low Island, a coral cay which together with Woody Island forms the Low Isles group, about northeast of Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia...

, and Flat Top Island Light

Flat Top Island Light

Flat Top Island Light is an inactive lighthouse located on Flat Top Island, a small island off the entrance to Mackay harbor at the mouth of Pioneer River, about east of Mackay, Queensland, Australia. It used to mark the river entrance for shipping and the direction of the port, as well as...

. It had four floors, including the gallery floor, with ladders leading from one floor to the next.

Together with a lighthouse on Rocky Island, now disused, the original light served as a lead light

Leading lights

Leading lights are a pair of light beacons, used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; and may also be used for position fixing. At night, the lights are a form of leading line that can be used for safe navigation...

 between Hope Islands

Hope Islands National Park

Hope Islands National Park is a national park in Queensland 1,521 km north-west of Brisbane. The park consists of four islands: East Hope and West Hope, Snapper Island and Struck Island....

 and the mainland to the south, and between some reefs and the mainland to the north.

In 1975 the current lighthouse was built, and was automated and electrically operated to begin with. The base of the old lighthouse still exists at the location. The original lens are now on display at the Queensland Maritime Museum

Queensland Maritime Museum

The Queensland Maritime Museum is located on the southern bank of the Brisbane River just south of the South Bank Parklands and Queensland Cultural Centre precinct of Brisbane, and close to the Goodwill Bridge....

.

Current light

The current lighthouse is a square concrete equipment room, topped with a lantern. It was the seventh and last of a group of seven concrete towers erected by the Commonwealth between 1964 and 1979. By order of construction the lights were Cape Capricorn Light

Cape Capricorn Light

Cape Capricorn Light is an active lighthouse located on Cape Capricorn, a coastal headland on the northeast point of Curtis Island, in Central Queensland, Australia...

, New Caloundra Light

New Caloundra Light

New Caloundra Light, also known as New Caloundra Head Light, is an inactive lighthouse located in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, Australia. It stands on Canberra Terrace near downtown Caloundra. The lighthouse was active from 1968 to 1992...

, Point Danger Light

Point Danger Light

Point Danger Light, also known as the Captain Cook Memorial Light, is an active lighthouse located on Point Danger, a headland between Coolangatta, Queensland and Tweed Heads, New South Wales, marking the border between New South Wales and Queensland, Australia...

, New Burnett Heads 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...

, Fitzroy Island Light

Fitzroy Island Light

Fitzroy Island Light is an inactive lighthouse on Fitzroy Island, a continental island southeast of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It was only active between 1973 and 1992, though a light station at the area is active since 1926 and to these days...

, Point Cartwright 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...

 and itself.

The light characteristic shown is four flashes, separated by two seconds, every twenty seconds, White at 153°-276°, 305°-313° and 334°-338°, Green at 276°-305° and 320°-334°, Red at 313°-320° and 338°-358° (Fl.(4)W.R.G. 20s). The white sector indicates the clear passage into the channel, while the red and green sectors indicates the ship is outside the channel.

The current light source is a 35,000 cd 120 Volt

Volt

The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

 1000 Watt

Watt

The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

 Tungsten-halogen bulb, fed from the mains electricity

Mains electricity

Mains is the general-purpose alternating current electric power supply. In the US, electric power is referred to by several names including household power, household electricity, powerline, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, street power, and grid power...

, with a diesel generator

Diesel generator

A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy....

 for backup.

Site operation and visiting

The site and the light are operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Australian Maritime Safety Authority is responsible, on behalf of the Commonwealth Government of Australia, for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations...

. The site is open to the public, and is accessible by a gravel road, but the tower is closed.