h i s t o r y
In 1883, Captain Frederick Howard, a nautical surveyor in the Department of Harbours and Rivers, made an examination of Byron Bay and prepared a plan for its improvement. His plan included alternative sites for jetties, and the provision of breakwaters to give shelter. Howard expressed the opinion that the bay was ‘well fitted to become the port of this district, and, if facilities for shipping were given, would soon become an important place’. The idea of making Byron Bay a port for the trade of the coastal districts north of the Richmond River emerged in the early 1880s, before the creation and settlement of the village there.
At that time the Tweed and Brunswick Rivers were the main outlets for the timber resources and agricultural products of their respective districts, but their small and dangerous entrances were considered to be not worth spending much money on. Byron Bay, on the other hand, was thought capable of being made into a first‐rate shipping place for the produce of the Brunswick and part of the Tweed River districts.
In 1883, Captain Frederick Howard, a nautical surveyor in the Department of Harbours and Rivers, made an examination of Byron Bay and prepared a plan for its improvement. His plan included alternative sites for jetties, and the provision of breakwaters to give shelter. Howard expressed the opinion that the bay was ‘well fitted to become the port of this district, and, if facilities for shipping were given, would soon become an important place’.
Edward Moriarty, the Engineer‐in‐Chief for Harbours and Rivers, later thought that the construction of a pier would meet the needs of the place without the need for expensive breakwaters. A sum of £5,000 was allocated by the Colonial Government in 1884 for the construction of a jetty, and work began in 1886. The Byron Bay Jetty Opening Celebration Committee arranged a day of activities to mark the opening of the jetty on 24 July 1888.1 The government took over the jetty probably a few months afterwards.
The idea of constructing a lighthouse at Cape Byron is probably as old as that of the port of Byron Bay itself, but it seems to have been first seriously advocated in the mid‐1890s, by which time the jetty and later railway connection with Lismore and the Tweed had made Byron Bay a shipping port of significance. The colony had only one light north of the Richmond River (where a lighthouse had been established on the northern head in 1866), and that was at Fingal Head (established in 1872).
The Northern Star, a district newspaper, pointed out in 1895 that a light on Cape Byron was a necessity, and suggested that a superior light to those at Ballina and Fingal should be provided there. The newspaper confidently predicted that if representations were made to the Marine Board and to the Treasurer, and supported by the various steamship companies operating in the north of the colony, a light would ‘probably be provided next year’.2
The details of the representations and lobbying that subsequently took place are not known, but by the end of 1897 a sum of £18,000 had been allocated for a lighthouse and quarters at Cape Byron. The Northern Star claimed some credit for this.3 The rapidity with which the decision was made, however, suggests that the site was already under consideration. There was no first order light between South Solitary Island and Cape Moreton, a distance of more than 350 kilometres, and Cape Byron, being the most easterly point of the continent, was a logical place at which to fill this significant gap in the chain of navigational lights along the NSW part of Australia’s eastern coast.
In 1883, Captain Frederick Howard, a nautical surveyor in the Department of Harbours and Rivers, made an examination of Byron Bay and prepared a plan for its improvement. His plan included alternative sites for jetties, and the provision of breakwaters to give shelter. Howard expressed the opinion that the bay was ‘well fitted to become the port of this district, and, if facilities for shipping were given, would soon become an important place’.
Edward Moriarty, the Engineer‐in‐Chief for Harbours and Rivers, later thought that the construction of a pier would meet the needs of the place without the need for expensive breakwaters. A sum of £5,000 was allocated by the Colonial Government in 1884 for the construction of a jetty, and work began in 1886. The Byron Bay Jetty Opening Celebration Committee arranged a day of activities to mark the opening of the jetty on 24 July 1888.1 The government took over the jetty probably a few months afterwards.
The idea of constructing a lighthouse at Cape Byron is probably as old as that of the port of Byron Bay itself, but it seems to have been first seriously advocated in the mid‐1890s, by which time the jetty and later railway connection with Lismore and the Tweed had made Byron Bay a shipping port of significance. The colony had only one light north of the Richmond River (where a lighthouse had been established on the northern head in 1866), and that was at Fingal Head (established in 1872).
The Northern Star, a district newspaper, pointed out in 1895 that a light on Cape Byron was a necessity, and suggested that a superior light to those at Ballina and Fingal should be provided there. The newspaper confidently predicted that if representations were made to the Marine Board and to the Treasurer, and supported by the various steamship companies operating in the north of the colony, a light would ‘probably be provided next year’.2
The details of the representations and lobbying that subsequently took place are not known, but by the end of 1897 a sum of £18,000 had been allocated for a lighthouse and quarters at Cape Byron. The Northern Star claimed some credit for this.3 The rapidity with which the decision was made, however, suggests that the site was already under consideration. There was no first order light between South Solitary Island and Cape Moreton, a distance of more than 350 kilometres, and Cape Byron, being the most easterly point of the continent, was a logical place at which to fill this significant gap in the chain of navigational lights along the NSW part of Australia’s eastern coast.
Images sourced from Byron Bay Directory