Lady Elliot Island Lighthouse – A beacon of Queensland’s maritime history

Built in 1873, the Lady Elliot Island lighthouse was the first built offshore on the Great Barrier Reef and became a prototype for Queensland lighthouse design.

Its clever combination of a timber framing and iron cladding, made it strong, affordable and long lasting – a design so successful that it shaped lighthouse construction in Queensland until 1915.

It also played a part in lighting the Inner Passage of the Great Barrier Reef for safe navigation, linking Australia’s east coast to the world through the Suez Canal.

Today, it’s protected under the Lady Elliot Island Lightstation Heritage Management Plan, a federal document that safeguards its heritage values.

Listed on the Commonwealth Heritage List, the lighthouse is recognised for its historic, scientific, aesthetic and social significance.