Sea Hill Light
Encyclopedia
Sea Hill Light, also known as Sea Hill Point Light Little Sea Hill Light, was a 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....

 on the northwest point of Curtis Island, Queensland, Australia. Its purpose was to mark the east side of the entrance to Keppel Bay
Keppel Bay
Keppel Bay is a broad bay in Central Queensland, Australia at the mouth of the Fitzroy River. Cape Keppel is at the Eastern end of the bay.The bay and the nearby Keppel Islands were named by Captain Cook when he was there on 27 May 1770, after Admiral Augustus Keppel of the British Royal...

, on passage to Fitzroy River
Fitzroy River (Queensland)
The Fitzroy River lies in Queensland, Australia. Its catchment covers an area of 142,665 square kilometres, making it the largest river catchment flowing to the eastern coast of Australia. The river is formed by the joining of the Mackenzie and Dawson rivers at Duaringa. The catchment stretches...

 and Port Alma
Port Alma, Queensland
Port Alma is a port in Queensland, Australia, approximately from Rockhampton, at the south end of the Fitzroy River delta. The port primarily handles cargoes consisting of class 1 explosives, ammonium nitrate, bulk tallow and equipment used in support of military exercises held at Shoalwater Bay....

. The first lighthouse at the locations was constructed in 1873 or 1876, moved in the 1920s, and is now on display at the Gladstone
Gladstone, Queensland
- Education :Gladstone has several primary schools, three high schools, and one university campus, Central Queensland University. It is also home to CQIT Gladstone Campus.- Recreation :...

 Maritime Museum. A second lighthouse was constructed in 1895, deactivated in 2006 and demolished in early 2009.

History

First lighthouse

The first lighthouse, constructed in 1873 or 1876, was the first in Queensland of its design, made of a hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...

 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...

 clad
Cladding (construction)
Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements, or for aesthetic purposes....

 with corrugated iron. This design was then used in seven more lighthouses, by order of establishment, Grassy Hill Light
Grassy Hill Light
Grassy Hill Light, also known as Cooktown Light, is an active lighthouse located on Grassy Hill above Cooktown, Queensland, Australia, on the south side of the entrance to Endeavour River.-History:...

, Goods Island Light
Goods Island Light
Goods Island Light is an active lighthouse located on the highest point of Goods Island , an island in the Torres Strait, belonging to Queensland, Australia. It serves as the rear light of the Goods Island Range, pointing out the entrance to Normanby Sound.-History:The first navigation aid on Goods...

, Bay Rock Light
Bay Rock Light
Bay Rock Light is an inactive lighthouse which used to be located on Bay Rock, a rocky islet northwest of Magnetic Island, about north of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. First lit in 1886, it was automated in 1920 and deactivated in the 1980s. It was relocated in 1992 to the Townsville Maritime...

, Old Caloundra Light
Old 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...

, North Point Hummock Light (demolished), Gatcombe Head Light (demolished) and Bulwer Island Light
Bulwer Island Light
Bulwer Island Light, also known as Bulwer Island Range Rear Light, is an inactive lighthouse that used to be located on Bulwer Island, in the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In 1983 it was moved to the Queensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane....

. With the installation of the second lighthouse in 1895 it became the front light in the range. In the 1920s, the lighthouse was relocated to Station Point, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) northeast. It stood there until it was deactivated in the 1960s and then sold into private hands. It is currently on display at the Gladstone Maritime Museum at 23°50′4"S 151°15′37"E.

The lighthouse is rather short, only 20 feet (6.1 m) in height. Unlike the other seven Queensland lighthouse towers of the corrugated iron clad type, it is hexagonal in plan, rather than round. A gallery and a lantern top the tower, and much like other Queensland lighthouses, it is painted white with a red dome.

Second lighthouse

The second lighthouse was constructed in 1895 and for a while served as the rear light in the range. It was a 12 metres (39.4 ft), timber framed zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

-annealed
Annealing (metallurgy)
Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment wherein a material is altered, causing changes in its properties such as strength and hardness. It is a process that produces conditions by heating to above the recrystallization temperature, maintaining a suitable temperature, and...

, corrugated iron clad tower, with a lantern and a gallery. A pilot station was originally located at the premises, and was closed in 1963. As of 1975 the light source was an open flame acetylene gas burner. In 2006 the lighthouse was deactivated, and in early 2009 it was apparently demolished.

The station was not completely abandoned. The 2010 List of Lights lists a light at the location, 7 feet (2.1 m) with a focal plane of 39 feet (11.9 m), displaying a light characteristic of two white flashes every six seconds (Fl.(2)W. 6s). This is most likely a new fiberglass beacon.
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