page_title: Cape Moreton Light
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: Cape Moreton Light / Establishment / Development
caption_attribution_description: English: Buildings surrounding the lighthouse at Cape Moreton, 1951 There is an amphibious craft on the right, coming down the hill from the keeper's house.
context_page_description: Cape Moreton Light, also listed as North Point Range Rear Light, is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Cape Moreton, a rocky headland located at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island, a large sand island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. It marks the northern entrance to Moreton Bay and Brisbane and also serves as the rear light for the North Point Range. With its two distinctive red bands, it also serves as a daymark. It is the oldest lighthouse in Queensland, and the only one to be built by the New South Wales Government before the separation of Queensland, which took place in 1859. It is also the only lighthouse in Queensland to be built of stone.
  The lighthouse was established following an increase in traffic through the northern entrance to Moreton Bay in the 1840s. It was designed by Edmund Blacket in 1854 and established in 1857. Over the years the light source went through several changes, from oil wick, to kerosene, to acetylene gas, to electricity, and finally to solar power.
context_section_description: In 1859, control of the lightstation passed to the Government of Queensland, but it continued to be managed by the New South Wales Marine Board until the formation of the Queensland Department of Ports and Harbours in 1862. In 1864 a telegraph office was opened at the Cape. In 1873, the oil wick lamps were replaced with kerosene. During the 1860s and 1870s some further structures were constructed in the station including a schoolhouse (opened in 1879), a stable, and other storage buildings. A telegraph line was constructed during the 1890s, and a Morse lamp visible for 20 miles (32 km) was installed in the 1910s. In 1913 the timber parts of the structures, which were damaged by ants, were replaced. A 1911–1913 survey found the light in good shape, though the apparatus was found out of date and needing replacement. This replacement was to be delayed for a long time due to the transfer of all coastal lights to the Commonwealth, occurring officially October 1913, though practically in July 1915. A post office was operated by the light keepers between 1915 and the early 1920s.
  In 1928, the tower was extended and the lighthouse reached its current height of 75 feet (23 m) to increase its range. In 1928–1930, the keepers' cottages were replaced with timber framed fibro clad structures. In 1930, the lantern underwent major modification. The lantern house was replaced with 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 m) diameter Chance Brothers lantern room. The optical apparatus was replaced with either a third order Chance Bros dioptric lens or a four panel 375 millimetres (14.8 in) AGA catadioptric lens on an AGA pedestal. The light source was replaced by an AGA incandescent gas mantle operated by acetylene gas, and a sun valve was also installed.
caption: Lighthouse and surrounding buildings, 1951
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