Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse
The colony of Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859, At that time the population and economy were small and spread along the extensive coastline. The only communication between the several settlements was by sea, as there were few roads or railways. Sea passage was greatly complicated by the existence of the Great Barrier Reef for much of the distance.
Queensland only inherited one lighthouse from NSW – a stone structure on Moreton Island near Brisbane. Two segmental cast iron lighthouses were built at Bustard Head and Sandy Cape in 1868 and 1870. They were and remain as substantial structures, but were fully imported and expensive. The colony needed a lot of lighthouses, quickly and cheaply, so they turned to a local design using Australian hardwood as the frame, clad with imported iron sheets.
A number of small timber-framed, weather-board clad towers had been built earlier but a major new design was first applied at Lady Elliot Island 1872. This was a tall tower at 32m to the top of the lantern. The tower was a timber frame of Australian hardwood of substantial sections, clad and braced by imported iron sheets as a composite structure. Two years later, in 1874, a slightly shorter tower was erected at Cape Bowling Green, a sandy spit near Townsville. Eventually 22 timber-framed, iron-clad, lighthouses would be built along the Queensland coast, some of them quite short on high capes and islands. Many remain in active service.
Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse was pre-fabricated in Maryborough by Rooney Brothers. Sited on a potentially shifting foundation it was moved twice in the first years of its existence. The first move was made bodily and the second over a greater distance was achieved by dismantling and re-erection. In 1987 the light was upgraded to a modern facility adjacent, with the old lighthouse again dismantled and moved to the Australian National Maritime Museum on the foreshores of Darling Harbour in the heart of Sydney.
While this nomination is specifically about Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, it also recognises the rest of the suite of lighthouses similar design, most of which still exist along the Queensland coast in service or relocated. The image of a map of Queensland to the right indicates the location of other heritage lighthouses in Queensland. Click on this image to open an interactive map that will provide information on each lighthouses location; height; date built; heritage register; status; structure; access; and directions on how to get to the lighthouse from any nominated location.
Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
| Marker Type | National Engineering Landmark (NEL) |
| Award Date | December 2024 |
| Heritage Significance | This lighthouse was a new and innovative Australian design to meet the circumstance of the time in terms of economic construction and the rapid deployment of navigation aids in remote areas. |
| Nomination Document | Available here. |
| Ceremony Booklet | Not Available |
| Plaque/Interpretation Panel | None Installed. |
