Cape Moreton is a rocky headland at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island in South East Queensland, Australia. The surrounding area is part of the Moreton Island National Park. Flinders Reef is 5 kilometres (3 mi) north-west of Cape Moreton.
The outcrop is mostly composed of sandstone, but also some conglomerate, siltstone and shale.[1] The sand dunes of Moreton Island were formed by sand caught on and built up behind these rocks, in a process that began at least 500,000 years ago.[2]
History
edit
On the 17 May 1770, James Cook sighted and named the point Cape Morton. By 1959 the island's second settlement begin at Cape Moreton. At one point a school was operating at Cape Moreton with a total of 15 children.[1] Until 1952 when it was abandoned, a telegraph line reached the point, via Amity on North Stradbroke Island.[1]
On 24 February 1894, the Aarhus sank about two nautical miles from the cape after striking Smith's Rocks. The hospital ship Centaur was sunk close to Cape Moreton in 1943 when a Japanese submarine torpedoed the ship, taking the lives of 268 people. The wreck was found on the 20 December 2009 in a steep walled gulley, 2,059 m below the ocean surface.
The MV Pacific Adventurer lost containers in high seas created by Cyclone Hamish and caused the 2009 southeast Queensland oil spill. The containers were located after a 10-day search, about 7 kilometres (4 mi) off the coast of Cape Moreton.[3]
Lighthouse
edit
Cape Moreton Light was the first lighthouse established in Queensland. The 23 metres (75 ft) tall structure was constructed of locally quarried sandstone, and was built in 1857.[4] 35 "good conduct" prisoners were used for labour.[1]
A pilot station was established at Bulwer on the northern end of the island in 1848.[1] At one time there was a total of seven lighthouses in operation on the island.[1]
Cape Moreton Lighthouse Complex, consisting of the lighthouse, three keepers' cottages and associated structures, was registered on the Register of the National Estate in 1981.[5]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Horton, Helen (1983). Islands of Moreton Bay. Spring Hill, Queensland: Boolarong Publications. pp. 103–114. ISBN 0-908175-67-1.
- ^ Levin, Noam; Neil, David; Syktus, Jozef (December 2014). "Spatial variability of dune form on Moreton Island, Australia, and its correspondence with wind regime derived from observing stations and reanalyses". Aeolian Research. 15: 289–300. doi:10.1016/j.aeolia.2014.06.006. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ Andrew Wight (28 March 2008). "Navy locates missing containers". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- ^ Nolan, Carolyn; Robert Longhurst (1996). Brisbane's Moreton Bay:Our heritage in focus. South Brisbane, Queensland: State Library of Queensland. p. 52. ISBN 0-7242-7176-7.
- ^ "Cape Moreton Lighthouse Complex (Place ID 17189)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government.
External links
edit- "The Cape Moreton Lighthouse". Lighthouses of Queensland. Lighthouses of Australia Inc.