The Little Lighthouse

For 70 years the little Caloundra lighthouse acted as a guide to ships passing through the dangerous reefs and sandbanks to the port of Brisbane. After being replaced by a modern light she was moved to Golden Beach. She became a rusty ruin. Early one morning she feared the worst.

The Little Lighthouse is stocked at:

Caloundra Regional Gallery - 22 Omrah Avenue Caloundra

The Book Shop at Caloundra -1/18 Bulcock St

Rosetta Books - 30 Maple St, Maleny

Glass House Mountains Tourist Information

and of course can be bought at the Lighthouses on our open days, the first and fourth Saturdays of the month.

alternatively, within Australia, please send a $3.00 stamped addressed A4 envelope to

Friends of the Caloundra Lighthouses

c/- Roger Todd Architect

8 Campbell St

Moffat Beach 4551

and deposit $12.00 into our account

Friends of the Caloundra Lighthouses Inc

BSB 633-000 132361544

with the word "book" and your last name

In 2015, overseas postage ranged from $5.00 to New Zealand, $5.35 to Asia and $7.40 to "the rest of the world"

sample page

PRESS RELEASE April 2015

Caloundra’s littlest lighthouse enshrined in new children’s picture storybook!

The little lighthouse on the headland above King’s Beach has become the subject of a high standard full colour children’s picture storybook.

Based on the history of the 1896 Caloundra Lighthouses, the story has been captured in magnificent watercolour artworks by Blackall Range artist Diane Somers-Cook, with the inspired construction and troubled tale of Caloundra’s best known tourism icon told in prose by local writer John Bradley.

‘Troubled times for the little lighthouse’ include being replaced in 1968 by a more modern light with radar, and then removed to a park at Golden Beach, where it deteriorated into a pile of rust; but was rescued by ‘friends’ in 1999 and returned to its original home. The journey was not without its own dramas; but today the two lighthouses stand side by side, looking out towards the shipping lane, the sandhills of Moreton Island, and the Glass House Mountains, and are lovingly protected by the Friends of the Caloundra Lighthouses.

Inaugural president of the Friends of the Caloundra Lighthouses, 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.’

‘We would like to thank the Sunshine Coast Council for both a RADF grant to develop the book and a further major grant to enable such a high standard of presentation and production.’

The Little Lighthouse will be launched by Councillor Tim Dwyer at the Sunshine Coast Regional Gallery, Caloundra, as part of a Family Fun Day on Saturday 18 April at 1pm.

Diane Somers-Cook’s paintings from the book will be displayed at the Caloundra Regional Gallery from 25th March until the 10th May as part of the Of Peace and War exhibition.

Students from Caloundra State School, the closest school to the lighthouses, will be involved in the launch, encouraged by teacher Mrs Debbie Campbell, whose 2014 Year Twos assisted in editing the story.

Maleny-based children’s author Jill Morris and illustrator Heather Gall acted as editor and designer for the book. ‘It’s a very beautiful way of retelling history to inspire children in conservation,’ said Jill.

The Little Lighthouse, 24 pages of full colour suitable for reading aloud to pre-schoolers or independent reading by primary school-age students, will retail for $12 and following the launch will be available at local bookstores, Sunshine Coast Regional Gallery or direct from the Lighthouses, which are open every second and fourth Saturday of the month. The book sits alongside a more formal history for children by local authors Anne Wensley and Janice and John Groves.

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The Little Lighthouse