New Caloundra Light
Encyclopedia
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. It has a unique design resembling an airport control tower, the only surviving example of a lighthouse of this design in Australia.
had stood on Canberra Terrace since its construction in 1896, marking the entrance to the North West Channel, a deep water channel into Moreton Bay
and the Port of Brisbane
. Changes in the shipping industry in the 1960s caused an increase in large container ships, which made the channel even more important. In May 1966 permission was granted for the construction of a modern structure comprising a combined lighthouse, signal station and radar station.
The New Caloundra Light was erected in 1967, and was the second of a group of seven concrete
towers erected between 1964 and 1979. By order of construction the lights were Cape Capricorn Light
, New Caloundra Light, Point Danger Light
, New Burnett Heads Light
, Fitzroy Island Light
, Point Cartwright Light
and Archer Point Light
.
The light source was two stacks of sealed beam
lamps, installed on a revolving table. It had red and green sectors. While the light itself was fully automatic, the station was manned due to the signal station. Four houses were constructed outside the station to accommodate the staff.
The tower was constructed right next to the old lighthouse. By 1968 it became fully operational and the old lighthouse was deactivated. In 1970 the old lighthouse was relocated to avoid demolition.
The lighthouse had a short lifespan as a coastal light. By 1978 the buildings in Caloundra had grown in height, obscuring it from some angles. In 1978 Point Cartwright Light
was constructed, and the New Caloundra Light was downgraded to a harbour light. The harbour light remained there until 1992, when it was moved to Wickham Point, together with a radar/microwave link replacing the signal station, and the station was demanned. New Caloundra Light remained as backup, until it was finally shut off in 1997.
The lighthouse's last display had a light characteristic of two white flashes every ten seconds (Fl.G(2).W. 10s). The light was a 1,000,000 cd
, 200 Watt
, sealed beam
array fed from Mains electricity
with a battery
backup, visible for 24 nautical miles (44.4 km). It was displayed at a focal height of 52 metres (170.6 ft).
, serving as an observation tower, it was demolished in the 1990s, leaving the New Caloundra Light as the only surviving example of this design.
The tower base measures 2.7 metres (8.9 ft). The entrance is from the western side, and a spiral concrete staircase leads to the observation room. The stairs have a steel tubular handrail
, and circle a service duct. One rectangular window is set in each of the four sides of the base, aligned with the staircase. Cantilever
ed reinforced concrete
beams angle from the base to support the floor of the observation room.
The observation room features windows on all sides. The eastern rounded side features a continuous band of windows, while the straight western side features four individual ones. The room includes an enclosed toilet in the northwest corner and central pillar with cavities linking to the roof level. A door in the southwest corner leads to a narrow balcony that wraps around the rounded part of the room. The balcony has a concrete floor and a balustrade covered in asbestos cement sheeting rendered with pebbledash on the exterior face. A steel ladder with safety grille on the northwest end leads to the flat roof.
The roof is surrounded with a balustrade with fibre cement
panels. The concrete constructed lantern room is located at the center of the roof. It is a circular room with a flat concrete roof, wider at the roof than at the base. Trapezoidal steel frame window panes are set on the eastern side, the side facing the sea. The lantern can be accessed via a door on on the southwest. A ladder on the northwest allows access to the roof of the lantern room, where radar and radio equipment is mounted.
Another related structure is an orange brick generator shed just south of the lighthouse. It was built in 1967–1968 together with the lighthouse. Windows are set high on the wall, with a projecting brick window sill below. An overhanging concrete roof forms a narrow awning
. Entrance to the structure is on the northern side. The inside is composed of two rooms, a larger generator room and smaller room in the northwest with an internal door.
As of 2011, Friends of the Caloundra Lighthouses Inc are preparing for a license from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council to allow visitation to the 1968 Signal Station and 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 in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast, Queensland
The Sunshine Coast is an urban area in South East Queensland, north of the state capital of Brisbane on the Pacific Ocean coastline. Although it does not have a central business district, by population it ranks as the 10th largest metropolis in Australia and the third largest in...
in South East
South East Queensland
South East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
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...
. It stands on Canberra Terrace near downtown Caloundra. The lighthouse was active from 1968 to 1992. It has a unique design resembling an airport control tower, the only surviving example of a lighthouse of this design in Australia.
History
Old Caloundra LightOld Caloundra Light
Old Caloundra Light, also known as Old Caloundra Head Light or Cape Caloundra Light, is an inactive lighthouse located in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, Australia. It is the oldest surviving building in Caloundra. The lighthouse was active between 1896 and 1968. The tower...
had stood on Canberra Terrace since its construction in 1896, marking the entrance to the North West Channel, a deep water channel into Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
and the Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane is the shipping port of Brisbane, on the east coast of Australia. It is located in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River on reclaimed land that was once called Fisherman Islands at the mouth of the river. It currently is the third busiest port in Australia and the nation's...
. Changes in the shipping industry in the 1960s caused an increase in large container ships, which made the channel even more important. In May 1966 permission was granted for the construction of a modern structure comprising a combined lighthouse, signal station and radar station.
The New Caloundra Light was erected in 1967, and was the second of a group of seven 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...
towers erected 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, 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 Archer Point Light
Archer Point Light
Archer Point Light is an active lighthouse located on Archer Point, a conical, , grassy headland, about southeast of Cooktown, Queensland, Australia. Originally an 1883 timber frame lighthouse, covered with galvanised iron, it was replaced in 1975 with a modern square concrete equipment room,...
.
The light source was two stacks of sealed beam
Sealed beam
A sealed beam is a type of lamp that includes a reflector and filament as a single assembly, over which a front cover of clear glass, is permanently attached. Previously, automotive headlamps used a separate small bulb and reflector covered with a ribbed lens to avoid glare from the filament. This...
lamps, installed on a revolving table. It had red and green sectors. While the light itself was fully automatic, the station was manned due to the signal station. Four houses were constructed outside the station to accommodate the staff.
The tower was constructed right next to the old lighthouse. By 1968 it became fully operational and the old lighthouse was deactivated. In 1970 the old lighthouse was relocated to avoid demolition.
The lighthouse had a short lifespan as a coastal light. By 1978 the buildings in Caloundra had grown in height, obscuring it from some angles. In 1978 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...
was constructed, and the New Caloundra Light was downgraded to a harbour light. The harbour light remained there until 1992, when it was moved to Wickham Point, together with a radar/microwave link replacing the signal station, and the station was demanned. New Caloundra Light remained as backup, until it was finally shut off in 1997.
The lighthouse's last display had a light characteristic of two white flashes every ten seconds (Fl.G(2).W. 10s). The light was a 1,000,000 cd
Candela
The candela is the SI base unit of luminous intensity; that is, power emitted by a light source in a particular direction, weighted by the luminosity function . A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela...
, 200 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:...
, sealed beam
Sealed beam
A sealed beam is a type of lamp that includes a reflector and filament as a single assembly, over which a front cover of clear glass, is permanently attached. Previously, automotive headlamps used a separate small bulb and reflector covered with a ribbed lens to avoid glare from the filament. This...
array fed from 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 battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
backup, visible for 24 nautical miles (44.4 km). It was displayed at a focal height of 52 metres (170.6 ft).
Structure
The lighthouse structure, totaling 14 metres (45.9 ft) in height, is quite unique, resembling a airport control tower. It comprises a square tower carrying a semicircular D-shaped observation room, with the rounded side facing east, and a lantern room is mounted on the roof of the observation room. While a similar structure was constructed at Lytton Hill, in Lytton, QueenslandLytton, Queensland
Lytton is an outer suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is 15 km north-east of the CBD.Although Lytton was once a town, it is now primarily commercial and industrial. It shares the same postcode as the Port of Brisbane....
, serving as an observation tower, it was demolished in the 1990s, leaving the New Caloundra Light as the only surviving example of this design.
The tower base measures 2.7 metres (8.9 ft). The entrance is from the western side, and a spiral concrete staircase leads to the observation room. The stairs have a steel tubular handrail
Handrail
A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide stability or support. Handrails are commonly used while ascending or descending stairways and escalators in order to prevent injurious falls. Other applications include bathroom handrails—which help to prevent falls on...
, and circle a service duct. One rectangular window is set in each of the four sides of the base, aligned with the staircase. Cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
beams angle from the base to support the floor of the observation room.
The observation room features windows on all sides. The eastern rounded side features a continuous band of windows, while the straight western side features four individual ones. The room includes an enclosed toilet in the northwest corner and central pillar with cavities linking to the roof level. A door in the southwest corner leads to a narrow balcony that wraps around the rounded part of the room. The balcony has a concrete floor and a balustrade covered in asbestos cement sheeting rendered with pebbledash on the exterior face. A steel ladder with safety grille on the northwest end leads to the flat roof.
The roof is surrounded with a balustrade with fibre cement
Fibre cement
Fibre cement is often applied in building and construction materials, mainly in roofing and facade products because of its strength and durability.-Material description:...
panels. The concrete constructed lantern room is located at the center of the roof. It is a circular room with a flat concrete roof, wider at the roof than at the base. Trapezoidal steel frame window panes are set on the eastern side, the side facing the sea. The lantern can be accessed via a door on on the southwest. A ladder on the northwest allows access to the roof of the lantern room, where radar and radio equipment is mounted.
Another related structure is an orange brick generator shed just south of the lighthouse. It was built in 1967–1968 together with the lighthouse. Windows are set high on the wall, with a projecting brick window sill below. An overhanging concrete roof forms a narrow awning
Awning
An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tightly over a light structure of aluminium, iron or steel, possibly...
. Entrance to the structure is on the northern side. The inside is composed of two rooms, a larger generator room and smaller room in the northwest with an internal door.
Site operation and visiting
The site of the lighthouse is accessible, but the tower is closed to the public.As of 2011, Friends of the Caloundra Lighthouses Inc are preparing for a license from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council to allow visitation to the 1968 Signal Station and Lighthouse.