Cleveland Lighthouse and Restaurant.

The lighthouse was built in 1864 by the Queensland Government. It lit up Cleveland Point until it was replaced in 1975 by the concrete light. It is a hexagonal wooden lighthouse about 12m (38ft) tall. It is made of painted weatherboards attached to a timber frame.  The light used kerosene until 1934 when it was converted to electricity.

The lighthouse was originally located on the north east tip of Cleveland Point. In  1975, a new concrete light was built and the old lighthouse was moved to the western shore of the point, about 140m south of its original location. In 2009, the concrete light was removed.

In the 1860s, small farming settlements along the south coast of Moreton Bay, including at Cleveland, Victoria Point, Redland Bay and along the Logan and Albert Rivers relied on small ships (coastal steamers) for transport.
Travel by ship could be dangerous as the mudflats and sandbanks in Moreton Bay move and there are rocks. The bay is also very tidal, which meant it gets very shallow, especially close to shore.

Cleveland Point was a dangerous spot. Before the lighthouse was built, people living in Cleveland put up small lights to make sure the ships didn’t run aground. These small lights kept getting damaged, and eventually the Queensland Government decided to build a permanent light.

The Lighthouse Restaurant is a busy place.  We had fish and chips for lunch.  I wasn't overly thrilled with them, they were very dry.

  Pen and ink sketch in my A4 sketchbook

Watercolour added.  We were sketching with our eyes over the bay as a huge storm was forecast.

Luckily for us the storm held off for the two and a half hours we were sketching.  Lunchtime brought the downpour.