Cape Bowling Green Light
Encyclopedia
Cape Bowling Green Light is an active lighthouse
located on Cape Bowling Green, a lengthy headland
ending with a long low sandspit
, about 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) from Ayr
, Queensland
, Australia
. The lighthouse is at the end of the headland, near the base of the sandspit. The first lighthouse at the location, established 1874, was moved multiple times. It was prefabricated in Brisbane
, shipped to the location, moved twice due to coastal erosion
and finally transferred for display at the Australian National Maritime Museum
at Darling Harbour in Sydney
.
frame
clad
with galvanized
iron plates imported from Britain. The lighthouse was prefabricated
in Brisbane, then dismantled and shipped to the location to be erected again. The construction was done by the brothers John and Jacob Rooney of Maryborough
, which also constructed Sandy Cape Light
, Cowan Cowan Point Light, Cape Capricorn Light
, Lady Elliot Island Light
and Booby Island Light
.
The original lens was a 3rd order Chance Brothers
dioptric lens, and the light source was a kerosene
wick lamp with an intensity of 13,000 cd
, visible for 14 nautical miles (25.9 km). The apparatus was rotated with a clockwork
mechanism and the station was operated by four lighthouse keeper
s, a chief and three assistants.
In 1878 beach erosion threatened the lighthouse for the first time and it was moved for the first time. In 1908 the tower had to be relocated further away for the same reason.
In 1913 an incandescent gas mantle operated by vaporised kerosene was installed, raising the power to 64,000 cd. In 1920 a fixed automatic acetylene gas lamp (carbide lamp
) with a sun valve
was installed. As a result, the lighthouse was demanned and all other buildings were demolished.
In 1985 a racon
was installed. In 1987 the lighthouse was replaced by the current skeletal tower. With the sponsorship of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
, the lighthouse was dismantled, and sections were lifted by a Department of Transport helicopter
to a site where they were numbered, crated, and shipped to Sydney. By 1994 the lighthouse was reassembled at the Australian National Maritime Museum where it is now on display. The lighthouse is still operational, using the original 3rd order lens and a typical 1913 clockwork mechanism, and it maintains its original light characteristic, four white flashes every twenty seconds (Fl.(4)W. 20s).
The light characteristic shown is four white flashes every twenty seconds (Fl.(4)W. 20s), visible for 11 nautical miles (20.4 km).
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 Cape Bowling Green, a lengthy 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...
ending with a long low sandspit
Spit (landform)
A spit or sandspit is a deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, and extend into the sea. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift...
, about 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) from Ayr
Ayr, Queensland
Ayr is a town in Queensland, Australia near the delta of the Burdekin River, named after the Scottish town of Ayr by the settlers from the United Kingdom...
, 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...
. The lighthouse is at the end of the headland, near the base of the sandspit. The first lighthouse at the location, established 1874, was moved multiple times. It was prefabricated in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, shipped to the location, moved twice due to coastal erosion
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
and finally transferred for display at the Australian National Maritime Museum
Australian National Maritime Museum
The Australian National Maritime Museum is a federally-operated maritime museum located in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After consideration of the idea to establish a maritime museum, the Federal government announced that a national maritime museum would be constructed at Darling Harbour, tied into...
at Darling Harbour in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
History
Many ships wrecking at Cape Bowling Green necessitated the construction of a lighthouse at the cape. The first Cape Bowling Green Light was constructed in 1874, one of 22 lighthouse of similar design constructed in Queensland around that time. It was a round conical tower, constructed of local hardwoodHardwood
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 galvanized
Galvanization
Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, in order to prevent rusting. The term is derived from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani....
iron plates imported from Britain. The lighthouse was prefabricated
Prefabrication
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located...
in Brisbane, then dismantled and shipped to the location to be erected again. The construction was done by the brothers John and Jacob Rooney of Maryborough
Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...
, which also constructed Sandy Cape Light
Sandy Cape Light
Sandy Cape Light is an active lighthouse located on Sandy Cape, the most northern point on Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia. It stands about southwest of the northeastern tip of the island. It is the tallest lighthouse in Queensland. Built in 1870, it is the second major lighthouse to be built...
, Cowan Cowan Point Light, 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...
, Lady Elliot Island Light
Lady Elliot Island Light
Lady Elliot Island Light is an active lighthouse located on Lady Elliot Island, the southern-most coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef, north-east of Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. The lighthouse is located on the western side of the island...
and Booby Island Light
Booby Island Light
Booby Island Light is an active lighthouse located on Booby Island, an island near the tip of Cape York Peninsula, west of Prince of Wales Island, within the Endeavour Strait, Queensland, Australia. It marks the western entrance to the navigation channel through the Torres Strait...
.
The original lens was a 3rd order Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands , in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology....
dioptric lens, and the light source was a kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
wick lamp with an intensity of 13,000 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...
, visible for 14 nautical miles (25.9 km). The apparatus was rotated with a clockwork
Clockwork
A clockwork is the inner workings of either a mechanical clock or a device that operates in a similar fashion. Specifically, the term refers to a mechanical device utilizing a complex series of gears....
mechanism and the station was operated by four lighthouse keeper
Lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...
s, a chief and three assistants.
In 1878 beach erosion threatened the lighthouse for the first time and it was moved for the first time. In 1908 the tower had to be relocated further away for the same reason.
In 1913 an incandescent gas mantle operated by vaporised kerosene was installed, raising the power to 64,000 cd. In 1920 a fixed automatic acetylene gas lamp (carbide lamp
Carbide lamp
Carbide lamps, properly known as acetylene gas lamps, are simple lamps that produce and burn acetylene which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide with water....
) with a sun valve
Sun valve
A sun valve is a form of flow control valve, notable because it earned its inventor Gustaf Dalén the Nobel prize in physics....
was installed. As a result, the lighthouse was demanned and all other buildings were demolished.
In 1985 a racon
Racon
A racon is a radar transponder commonly used to mark maritime navigational hazards. The word is a portmanteau of RAdar and beaCON.When a racon receives a radar pulse, it responds with a signal on the same frequency which puts an image on the radar display...
was installed. In 1987 the lighthouse was replaced by the current skeletal tower. With the sponsorship of 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 lighthouse was dismantled, and sections were lifted by a Department of Transport helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
to a site where they were numbered, crated, and shipped to Sydney. By 1994 the lighthouse was reassembled at the Australian National Maritime Museum where it is now on display. The lighthouse is still operational, using the original 3rd order lens and a typical 1913 clockwork mechanism, and it maintains its original light characteristic, four white flashes every twenty seconds (Fl.(4)W. 20s).
Current structure and display
The current tower is a square steel skeletal tower. It is topped by a square lantern structure with a gallery. It is painted white with a red horizontal band at the top.The light characteristic shown is four white flashes every twenty seconds (Fl.(4)W. 20s), visible for 11 nautical miles (20.4 km).
Site operation and visiting
The current lighthouse is operated by the AMSA. The visiting status is unclear. The original lighthouse is owned and operated by the Australian National Maritime Museum, and it is open for guided tours daily.See also
- List of lighthouses and lightvessels in Australia