Cleveland Point Lighthouse

What is significant about the Cleveland Point Lighthouse? To me it just looks cool, but it has historical significance in Queensland and in particular Redland City.

The Cleveland Point Lighthouse

No trip to Cleveland would be complete without popping down to the point and looking at the lighthouse, the only pity is that you can’t go inside. There is a park nearby where children can play and you can have a picnic there or get takeaway from the Lighthouse Restaurant or even dine at the Restaurant which I should mention do a lovely latte if you’re more in the mood for morning coffee.

The Cleveland Point Lighthouse is actually the first lighthouse to be built in Queensland although it’s not the oldest lighthouse in Queensland – confused? Well the oldest lighthouse in Queensland is actually Cape Moreton Lighthouse, but when it was built Queensland hadn’t actually been established and Moreton Island was considered to be part of New South Wales.

After that interesting tidbit of totally useless information I should tell you that the Cleveland Point Lighthouse is actually listed on the Queensland Heritage Register and other similar registers because of it’s significant.

Cleveland Point Lighthouse was built in 1864 as a wooden lighthouse consisting of a wooden frame and painted weatherboards – this was not unusual for lighthouses at the time, the difference in Cleveland however was that it was hexagonal. It was only one of three hexagonal lighthouses built in Moreton Bay as an experiment during the nineteenth century.

The other reason for Cleveland Point Lighthouse to be historically significant in Queensland is that it is the only remaining clearly visible reminders of the role Cleveland played in the early shipping in Moreton Bay.

Images of Cleveland Point Lighthouse for Sale

Cleveland Lighthouse at Sunset Print

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Cleveland Point Lighthouse Postcards

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Cleveland was named in 1840 and Cleveland’s port saw a lot of shipping activity. In 1850 the Cleveland township was proclaimed and it boasted a customs house, long jetty running into Raby Bay, a woolstore, courthouse, hotel etc. The shipping to Cleveland was so busy it was actually considered over Brisbane to be made the states capital – although Brisbane ended up winning that ‘battle’.

Another interesting role that the Cleveland Point Lighthouse played in Australian Lighthouse history is that the second lighthouse keeper was James Troy who took over the role of Cleveland Point Lighthouse Keeper in 1877 and continued to look after the light with his children Jim and Johanna until 1927 which made the Troys the longest serving family of Lighthouse Keepers in Australia.

In 1975 the lighthouse was de-commissioned and the Redland Shire Council relocated it 30 metres away to make room for the new beacon in 1976. It has remained as a beacon to Redland residents ever since even if it doesn’t actually shine it’s light any more.

Updated: 11/18/2011, lou16

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lou16 on 05/09/2015

There's something quite magical about them isn't there?

CruiseReady on 05/07/2015

Another lighthouse lover here! Thank you for taking the time to write about the Cleveland Point Light. It's one I didn't know about before, and it's always fun to learn about another one.