Friends of the Caloundra Lighthouses


About the lighthouses - go back to previous page

About sunshinecoastplaces, a project to record our local history and heritage places, see the home page

  Proudly supported by Sunshine Coast Council’s grants program

Tours

We have Open Days on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, 9:00am till 3:00pm  

$5 for adults,  children free


We are doing booked tours subject to guide availability

To arrange a booked tour contact:

John Bradley 0432 299198 lighthouses1896@gmail.com

Roger Todd 5491 7654  & 0403 107654 toddarch@powerup.com.au

$5 per person,  min $40 or by arrangement

More Info

The Lighthouses 1967-70 - great detail by A Fulton Regional Lighthouse Engineer and supplied by  Colin Gladstone.  In 1970 the old lighthouse was relocated to Golden Beach where it remained till 1999 until it was returned to its original site.  By that time the Signal Station and Light had ceased operations

Membership

Download a membership form $10 single or $15 for families

Sub pages:

Booked Tours

Conservation Management Plan 2016-18

CCTV & ShipCam

Documents

Lighthouse Media

Images for talks

The Little Lighthouse

Images for Caloundra History talk

see us on facebook

Information for booked tours (2019)

There are two lighthouses which have guided tours.  Caloundra's European history is closely linked to the story of the lighthouses, and the two buildings provide evidence of the history of lighthouses from both ends of the time scale.

The 1968 Signal Station, Light and Radar Installation is a reinforced concrete structure with 47 stairs to the signal station level.  From the balcony there are spectacular views.  You can see the ships rounding the marker and entering Moreton Bay, with the sand cliffs of Moreton Island behind.  Look the other way and the Glass House Mountains are laid out before you.  The lantern is another level up with access by ladder, but is not open to visitors.  The Signal Station can handle 16 visitors at a time with two guides (allow 15-20 minutes)

The 1896 lighthouse was constructed with a timber frame and corrugated iron cladding, a construction type unique to Queensland lighthouses.  It was replaced by the 1968 lighthouse.   The two sat side by side until 1970 when the old lighthouse was relocated to Golden Beach. It remained there for 29 years.   After the Signal Station was decommissioned in the 1990s, the 1896 lighthouse was restored to its original position.  It is Caloundra township's oldest building.  The upper floors are currently closed for visitors.

We have a collection of photos, information and history books for sale.  Our website is a growing collection of information on significant places on the Coast.  www.sunshinecoastplaces.com.au  The pages on the lighthouses have a lot of historical and technical information.  We are always keen to add further.

There is free Council WiFi on site.

The cost for a tour is by arrangement, generally $5:00 per adult and $3 for children, with a $40 minimum.


Please note the only toilet on site is up in the Signal Station, so best to stop at public toilets first.

to the 1920s

1930s to 1950s

1960s to 1980s

Chronological Images 1990s to now

1990s to now

 Working on a timeline for the Caloundra Lighthouses.

The Little Lighthouse is now on sale

Inaugural president of FOCL, local architect Roger Todd, said: ‘This achieves so much on many levels. Not only do we have such a beautiful book to sell to fund our operations, but we also have another chapter in the story of the lighthouses. One of the joys of working with the lighthouses is the pride they generate in the community. The Grade Two students from the Caloundra State School visit regularly, and have the old lighthouse as their school logo.  Now they have its story beautifully presented and expressed in a language they can understand. In years to come I can imagine them reading it to their children.’

The Little Lighthouse

2015 the e-brochure for the launch

This Thursday 19th Sept we had a group of Caloundra State School Grade 2 students at the lighthouses as part of their local history course.

Saturday 2nd August. The USS George Washington sails past with a tender. Photos by Trevor with his long lens.  The people waiting on the hill got a surprise tour of the Signal Station.  We saw the USS Bonhomme Richard last month.  So far this year we have numbers 6, 73 & 54.   "Collect them all"

You can understand the size difference by comparing views of Moreton Island.

Thanks to all the visitors from the Caloundra State High School's Golden Anniversity. Photo shows the school badge published in Anne Wensleys and John & Janice Grove's book "Caloundra State High School - The Early Years 1963-1970" school badge

13th July view of the Glass House Mountains from the Signal Station, taken the day the Keep Australia Beautiful awards were held in Caloundra (Caloundra was Australian winner in 2012)  Delegates from around Australia visited the lighthouses.  Talk about "on a clear day"

June 2013 Jenny dropped in some copies of paintings from 1944 by Harriet Hills McKay. Douglass and Harriet with daughter Mary were Americans who had been allocated refugee housing in Caloundra by the Red Cross after escaping the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.

Information with the paintings includes their wartime story and a copy of ten year old Mary’s enrollment at Caloundra State School. They had been separated from their son Bob who remained in the Philippines until the end of the war.

1990s at Power Boat Club

May 2013 John Bradley dropped in with a book he had written for his grandchildren loosly based on the story of the lighthouses.  We suggested he apply for a RADF grant to take it to the next stage.  Sample pages attached March 2013.

The Friends purchased the 250mm 4th Order optic lens in 2001 for $250. It is the type fitted in the old Caloundra light in 1896. In the early 1940s the original fixed lens was replaced by a revolving lens with an electric lamp. Pictured are Barrie & Donnalea working on the lens. Barrie describes it as working on a three dimensional glass jigsaw.

2012 Golden Beach State School art competition 1st prize by Eva, & Once were Heroes by Robyn Shaw

Objects

Current Activity

Caloundra Lighthouses CMP 2018.pdf