Bart Bear's Blog

Yay! Our lighthouse image collection has now recorded over 80 Australian lighthouses and a dozen or so overseas ones. We stayed with Unka Ray and Aunty Libby for a few days after the conference, and on one of the days they drove us up to Bundaberg to see these two lighthouses at Burnett Heads. The old wooden one was built in 1873 and operated until 1971. It was saved from demolition and moved about a kilometer away to a park in the main street. I would have liked to climb up and see the light, but the door was locked and the wood too slippery, so I gave up. The new lighthouse is out near the river mouth where the old one was originally. It is completely automatic. The light is in that tiny glass cylinder on the left at the top of the tower. The white dome is a receiver for data from the Cospas Sarsat satellites. These satellites give quick distress alerts and location data to help rescue people in trouble at sea. Once again, I couldn't climb the tower. It is surrounded by a high wire fence to keep vandals at bay. At least the fence made it easy for me to read the sign.

Labels: climbing, lighthouse, Queensland