Point Danger Light, also known as the Captain Cook Memorial 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 Point Danger, a 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...

 between Coolangatta, Queensland

Coolangatta, Queensland

Coolangatta is the southernmost suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It has a population of 4,869 and is named after the schooner Coolangatta which was wrecked there in 1846....

 and Tweed Heads, New South Wales

Tweed Heads, New South Wales

Tweed Heads is a town located on the Tweed River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia in Tweed Shire. Tweed Heads is located next to the border with Queensland, adjacent to the "Twin Town" of Coolangatta, a suburb of the Gold Coast...

, marking the border between New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and 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 lays claim to be the first lighthouse in the world to experiment with laser

Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

 as a light source.

History

Point Danger Light was the third 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 in Queensland, in order of erection 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...

, itself, 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,...

. Constructed in 1971, it commemorates the bicentennial of Captain Cook

James Cook

Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...

's first voyage

First voyage of James Cook

The first voyage of James Cook was a combined Royal Navy and Royal Society expedition to the south Pacific ocean aboard HMS Endeavour, from 1768 to 1771...

, and specifically the voyage along the east coast of Australia in 1770. It was first exhibited in 18 April 1971.

The original light source was an experimental laser based light, and the lighthouse may very well be the first in the world to experiment with this light source. However, the experiment failed, and the light source was replaced in 1975 by a regular electric lamp.

Current display

The light characteristic shown is two white flashes every ten seconds (Fl.(2)W. 10s), visible at 170°-330° for 11 nautical miles (20.4 km). The light source is an electric lamp, fed by 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...

 float charged 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...

.

Structures

The lighthouse is constructed of four concrete columns, marked with the four cardinal direction

Cardinal direction

The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the directions of north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials: N, E, S, W. East and west are at right angles to north and south, with east being in the direction of rotation and west being directly opposite. Intermediate...

s, and a bronze sculpture

Bronze sculpture

Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...

 hung between the columns.

Also near-by is a one-story building housing the Marine Rescue NSW Point Danger station.

Site operation and visiting

The light is operated by Roads and Maritime Services

Roads and Maritime Services

Roads and Maritime Services is an agency of the New South Wales Government responsible for building and maintaining road infrastructure and managing the day-to-day compliance and safety for roads and waterways....

 (formerly NSW Maritime

NSW Maritime

NSW Maritime was an agency in the Government of New South Wales, Australia. NSW Maritime was the State Government Authority responsible for marine safety, regulation of commercial and recreational boating and oversight of port operations...

).
The site is accessible, but the tower is closed to the public.

See also

• List of lighthouses and lightvessels in Australia