Description:
Also called Point Danger Light, a Lighthouse, constructed of four concrete columns which are marked with the four cardinal directions. Cast iron ballast, was hauled from the place where it was dumped by Captain Cook on the Great Barrier Reef, and remoulded, and cast in the form of a Capstan by the Gold Coast Engineering firm James Kemp Pry Ltd, and placed centrally at the base of the Memorial.
The capstan was designed by historical experts from the Commonwealth Department of Shipping and Transport, and is a replica of the wooden Capstan used to raise the anchor on HMB Endeavour.
Mounted on top of the Capstan is a raised brass dome showing a chart of the world and tracing Cook’s voyages.
The light, shows two white flashes every ten seconds. The light source is an electric lamp, fed by a battery float charged from mains electricity.
Height of Monument 20 metres (67 feet).
The site, on the crest of Point Danger, is astride the NSW/Queensland border, and is accessible, but the tower which is operated by Roads and Maritime Services is closed to the public.
History:
Built by the Murwillumbah contractors, Henna & Edmed (Construction Pry. Ltd).
Third of a group of seven concrete towers. Erected in 1971
Officially opened by deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon J.D. Anthony, M.H.R., Member for Richmond, on Sunday 18th April 1971.
It commemorates the bicentennial of Captain Cook’s first voyage along the east coast of Australia in 1770.
Inscription:
On one of the Inside faces of Memorial there is artwork of a relief of Captain Cook. This was a contribution by the Rotary movement. On it is the inscription 1728-1779
Plaque on one of the inside faces of the Memorial:
CAPTAIN COOK MEMORIAL AND LIGHTHOUSE
ERECTED IN 1770
TO COMMEMORATE THE 200th ANNIVERSARY OF
THE ‘DISCOVERY’ OF THIS EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA
BY CAPTAIN COOK R.N. COMMANDING H.M. BARK
“ENDEAVOUR” ON ITS HISTROIC “VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY”
1768-1771
SIGHTED AND PASSED POINT DANGER ON THE
MORNING OF 17TH MAY 1770
EXTACT OF JOURNAL Wed. 16th May 1770
“………….AT DAY LIGHT WE WERE SURPRISED TO
FIND OUR SELVES FARTHER TO THE SOUTHWARD
THAN WE WERE IN THE EVENING AND YET IT HAD
BLOWEN STRONG SOUTHERLY ALL NIGHT. WE NOW
SAW THE BREAKERS AGAIN WITHIN US WHICH WE
PAST AT THE DISTANCE OF ABOUT 1 LEAGUE THEY
LAY IN THE LATITUDE OF 38° 8’ AND STRETCH OFF
EAST 2 LEAGUES FROM A POINT UNDER WHICH IS
A SMALL ISLAND THERE SITUATION MAY ALWAYS
BE FOUND BY THE PEAKED MOUNTAIN BEFORE
MENTIONED WHICH BEARS S.W. BY W. FROM THEM
AND ON THIS ACCOUNT I HAVE NAMED (IT) MOUNT
WARNING. IT LIES 7 OR 8 LEAGUES INLAND IN THE
LATITUDE OF 28° 22’S. THE LAND IS HIGH AND HILLY
ABOUT IT BUT IT IS CONSPICUOUS ENOUGH TO BE
DISTINGUISHED FROM EVERYTHING ELSE. THE POINT
OFF WHICH THESE SHOALS LAY I HAVE NAMED POINT
DANGER. TO THE NORTHWARD OF IT THE LAND WHICH
IS LOW TRENDS N.W. BY N. BUT WE SOON FOUND THAT
IT DID NOT KEEP THAT DIRECTION LONG BEFORE IT
TURND AGAIN MORE TO THE NORTHWARD
On the Capstan side:
THIS COMMONWEALTH DEPARTMENT OF SHIPPING AND TRANSPORT
WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LIGHTHOUSES AROUND AUSTRALIA’S
12,000 MILE COASTLINE COMBINED WITH THE GOLD COAST CITY
COUNCIL, AND THE TWEEDSHIRE TO ERECT THIS CAPTAIN COOK
MEMORIAL AND LIGHTHOUSE. THIS CAPSTAN AND WINCH AND
CHART OF COOK’S VOYAGES IS MOUNTED IN A REPLICA OF THE
CAPSTAN ON THE ‘ENDEAVOUR’. IT IS CAST FROM IRON BALLAST
RETRIEVED TWO CENTURIES AFTER IT WAS JETTISONED BY COOK
AT ENDEAVOUR REEF IN QUEENSLAND IN 1771.
GPS Coordinates: -28.164286 153.550941
References:
Cook’s Log, page 858, vol. 15, no. 3, (1992)
Website: https://en.wikipedia.rg/wiki/Point_Danger_Light
Website: https://tripadvisor.co.uk