Lighthouses and Coastal Heritage, Published 3 February 2026

Perched on the edge of Australia’s most easterly point, this bright white beauty has been guiding ships (and Facebookers/Instagrammers) since 1901. We walked up the headland, soaked in the ocean…

Perched on the edge of Australia’s most easterly point, this bright white beauty has been guiding ships (and Facebookers/Instagrammers) since 1901. We walked up the headland, soaked in the ocean views, and honestly? Worth every step. Sunshine, sea breeze, and at the right time of year, even whales if you’re lucky, all leading to an absolutely iconic lighthouse.

10 Facts About Byron Bay Lighthouse (Cape Byron Light)

• It was completed in 1901, making it more than a century old.

• It sits on Australia’s most easterly point, Cape Byron.

• The tower is 23 metres tall, built from concrete blocks.

• Its light has a focal height of 118 metres above sea level, giving it huge visibility.

• The original Fresnel lens was imported from France, a first‑order Henry‑LePaute lens.

• Its beam reaches up to 27 nautical miles, making it one of the most powerful lights in the Southern Hemisphere.

• It was designed by Charles Harding and Cecil W. Darley, prominent lighthouse architects of the era.

• It was one of the last lighthouses built along the NSW “highway of lights”, a chain of coastal navigation aids.

• It is still operational today, though fully automated and maintained by AMSA.

• The site now includes a museum, visitor centre, and heritage-listed lightstation buildings, making it a major tourist attraction.

If you’re ever in the area, the Byron Bay Lighthouse is definitely worth a visit!

Copyright and reuse

We encourage the sharing of history and information, and we support the responsible reuse of our original content.

Written articles. Unless a page says otherwise, our original written content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). You may copy, share, adapt and reuse it, including commercially, as long as you:

credit “The Dave & Malou Channel” as the source and, where practical, link to the original page;
link to the licence; and
indicate any changes you made, without suggesting that we endorse you or your use.

Photographs and other images. Unless a credit or caption says otherwise, photographs and other images on this website, including illustrations, are available under CC BY 4.0 on the same conditions as our written articles. This covers images we created and images supplied by individuals, archives, libraries and families who have given permission for this use. Please check the credit and caption before you reuse an image, because some are not covered:

Images marked “© The Dave & Malou Channel” must not be reproduced, reused or distributed without our prior written permission.
For images credited to another person or organisation that are marked © or otherwise reserve their rights, please contact us before reuse so we can help clarify the copyright status and any permission you need. We cannot give permission on behalf of another copyright owner.
Images labelled “Public Domain” may be used without permission, subject to any legal restrictions and the accuracy of that label.

Video, audio and third-party material. Video and audio are not covered by the licence unless a page says so. Copyright in material supplied by others, such as quotations, extracts and recordings, stays with its owner and is not covered unless we say so. Please contact us before reusing it.

Our name and logo. The name “The Dave & Malou Channel”, our logo and the look of the website are not covered by the licence. Please do not use them in a way that suggests we are connected with, or endorse, you.

Fair dealing. Nothing in our Website Terms limits your right to use material for private study, research, criticism, review, news reporting, or parody and satire, as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

Top