Grassy Hill Light

Grassy Hill Light, also known as Cooktown Light, is an active lighthouse located on Grassy Hill above Cooktown, Queensland, Australia, on the south side of the entrance to Endeavour River.HistoryGrassy Hill was the site of Lieutenant James Cook landing in 1770. Cooktown was established in October 1873 to accommodate for the Palmer River gold rush, and became a thriving port in the 1880s. The first lights in and out of the port were leading lights set on sheds on the wharves. A signal staff was erected on Grassy Hill in 1874 to announce incoming ships, and a cottage was constructed for the signal staff operator in 1878-79. By 1882 a temporary light was set on the hill. In 1883 and 1884, George Poynter Heath, Portmaster of Queensland and Chairman of the Queensland Marine Board at that time, made two reports to the parliament, recommending that the temporary light be replaced with a permanent building and a proper apparatus.Grassy Hill Light was finally constructed in 1886. It was the second in a group of eight lighthouses in Queensland made of hardwood frame clad with corrugated iron, which includes, by order of establishment Little Sea Hill Light, itself, Goods Island Light, Bay Rock Light, Old Caloundra Light, North Point Hummock Light (demolished), Gatcombe Head Light (demolished) and Bulwer Island Light. The apparatus was a 4th Order fixed Chance Bros Dioptric apparatus, and Heath himself supervised its installation in September 1886. The light source was a kerosene lamp. The light keeper resided in the existing cottage and also maintained a signal staff.