Point Danger Lighthouse

Point Danger is home to the Captain Cook Memorial Lighthouse. Opened on 16 April 1971, it is one of seven concrete towers built for the bicentenary of James Cook’s first voyage. Built as a joint venture between Gold Coast City Council and Tweed Shire Council, it marks the border between Queensland and New South Wales. Each of the four columns are aligned to the cardinal points of the compass.

The Commonwealth Department of Shipping and Transport joined in to make the tower a navigational aid also. It lays claim to being the first in the world to experiment with laser technology which was first developed just 11 years earlier. The benefit over a conventional light was the ability to penetrate fog, something that is not common in the Sunshine State.

The experiment was unsuccessful in that it was unsatisfactory for shipping. The beam emitted was quite powerful but was too narrow to be easily seen by ships. It was replaced by a conventional light, an AGA PRB12 in mid 1972. The Laser apparatus can be viewed at the Queensland Maritime Museum.

 91.7 Gold Coast ABC has a podcast talk about the lighthouse

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Title Address Description
Cleveland Point
238 Shore St N, Cleveland QLD 4163, Australia

Cleveland Point

Point Danger
3 Tweed Terrace, Coolangatta QLD 4225, Australia

Point Danger

Fingal Head
1B Lighthouse Parade, Fingal Head NSW 2487, Australia

Fingal Head

Keepers

This light was never manned.

Technical Details

First Exhibited1971
ArchitectLes Nyerges - Gold Coast Council
StatusActive
LocationLatitude: 28°10' S
Longitude: 153°33' E
Original OpticLaser
Current Optic
Demanned
ConstructionWhite concrete column towers
Height20 m
Elevation45 m
RangeNominal 19 NM
Geographical 18 NM
CharacterWhite Grp. Fl. (2) 10 secs.
Intensity
Light Source
Power SourceSolar (2002)
OperatorNSW Roads and Maritime Services
Custodian
Notes

  NB: Information is historical data and is not for navigational purposes.

Access

The tower is not open to the public. The lighthouse grounds are open all year round.

Tours

No tours are available.

Accommodation

No lighthouse accommodation is available

Associated Lighthouses

Fingal Head Lighthouse