EARLY MEMORIES OF CAPE MORETON LIGHT -– Part 2 – LIFE AT THE LIGHT

With Clair Craig, Brookfield

Cape Moreton Light (photo courtesy Rebecca Heard)

            “There were many flags at the lighthouse which the keepers used for signalling approaching ships.  We children used to play under the flags when they were pulled down.  I was never called on to help my father as there were Three Assistant Keepers to do that. During the era of 1912 – 1916 the Lighthouse staff  were:

            Superintendent:              George P.Byrne

            First Assistant:               E.Harper

                                                                                    Oliver Birrell (later)

            Second Assistant:           Johnson

            Third Assistant:             Lockhard

            “My mother worked in the office and she kept the records of the shipping.  She was paid a small amount by the Marine Department.  My mother always maintained high standards around the house.  She always had damask tablecloth and serviettes, and for a time while she worked in the office she had a maid to help around the house.

            “The keepers worked four hour shifts in the Watch House, on the lookout for approaching ships.  My father, as Superintendent, always had a daytime shift.  However, if a ship left a night, he was always notified by the keeper on watch by a knock on the window and the words “Steamer (NAME), departed North (or South) at (TIME)”.  All this had to be recorded in the logbook in the watch house.  My mother would then transcribe this into her log in the office.  Also we had to give berthing instructions to the approaching ships such as “Berth at Dalgetty’s wharf or AUSN, or head upstream (or downstream) etc.”  All this too had to be recorded.

            “When shipping approached from south or north the Watch House at Cape Moreton would signal (with flags during the day, Morse at night) “Do you want a pilot?”  If the ship required a pilot to guide it into port, we then notified them on board the pilot boat which was anchored near us at the Yellow Patch in the shelter of the island, and they went out to meet the approaching ship. The pilot would then board the ship and guide it up to Brisbane, the entrance being rather hazardous due to sand banks.  After berthing he might stay in Brisbane for a few days break before rejoining the pilot boat.  The pilots lived aboard, so they were always glad to visit us for a break on dry land.  We used to watch them coming up the narrow track to the Cape.  We always knew Captain Scott by his attire of white duck pants and a black coat.  He would stay with us for a few days.  We had an upright piano in our house which my father imported from America in 1900.  Both my mother and Captain Scott were good pianists, and they loved playing duets together. 

            “The Assistant Keepers did not come to these musical evenings.  In fact my father never fraternised with his men.  They used to call him “boss” and he called them by their surname, that’s why I don’t know any of their given names.”

“A Fine Collection of Hats!” The keepers at Cape Moreton Light early 1900s. 

Standing: Mr Johnson, Mr Maxwell. Sitting: Coney Reilly, Mr Byrnes, Henry Lockhard. 

Photo courtesy Beth Lawler.

Extract from ‘Moreton Bay People – The Complete Collection’.

EARLY MEMORIES OF CAPE MORETON LIGHT -– Part 1 – THE CAPE MORETON PROVISIONAL SCHOOL

With Clair Craig, Brookfield

Cape Moreton Light (photo courtesy Rebecca Heard)

            Of all Moreton Bay’s islands, the most inaccessible has always been, and still is, Moreton Island itself.  For those obliged to stay there, in particular the lighthouse keepers and their families, this isolation posed its own set of problems, not the least of which was the education of their children.

            At Cape Moreton, one of the sleeping quarters was converted into a school room in 1879 for the 21 children from the five families there including the Braydon, Griffin, Pascoe, and Jones families.  Henry Ward was the first teacher and he remained there, popular with both his students and their parents, until his transfer in 1890.

            Subsequent teachers proved less well adapted to their environment with repeated requests for transfers for reasons ranging from the isolation, poor supply of fresh produce, irregular mail communication, ill health, and the unfriendliness of the locals.

            Discontent was to peak in 1912 when Mrs Harper, wife of the First Assistant Keeper, established herself as teacher for the Cape Moreton School.  The Harpers proved to be socially unacceptable to the other members of the community and Mrs Harper was eventually removed from her position as school teacher.

            She was followed by a succession of teachers who, although competent and on good terms with the locals, left after a short period because of the reasons already cited.  Eventually, in 1926, the Cape Moreton Provisional School was closed and it was suggested that the remaining children enrol in correspondence classes.

            Today, Claire Craig remembers her four years at Cape Moreton where her father George Byrne was Superintendent of the Lighthouse from 1912 until 1916….

                                       SCHOOL DAYS AT THE CAPE

            “I was seven when we went to Cape Moreton and was nearly 12 when we left.  Our house was made of stone quarried locally and constructed by prison labour.  It was situated on the exposed cliff near the Cape Moreton Lighthouse.  The school house was a minute’s walk away down the hill which made it more protected from hurricanes than our house which was right on the top. 

            “I didn’t go to school for some time because my father, George P.Byrne, didn’t approve of the teacher, Mrs Harper, who was the wife of the First Assistant Keeper.  During my time at home, when my mother, Elizabeth Emma Byrne, wasn’t giving me lessons, I went with my brothers to chip oysters from the rocks.  We had to be very careful though because rogue waves could sweep away the unwary.  One of the Harper’s sons, Vince, had been drowned off the rocks there.

            “Eventually Mrs Harper resigned as the school teacher and her husband, First Assistant Harper was replaced by Oliver Birrell.  From then on, the school teachers were all single women.  Miss Lucie Tardent was my first teacher there.  I had two brothers who went with me to school for the first year, but then had to go to the mainland school for their higher grades.  There were about a dozen pupils including the three of us Byrnes, and the Henderson’s from Yellow Patch.  On Saturdays, after my brothers went away, I used to walk down to the Hendersons and stay with them overnight, being watched by telescope walking down the track until I reached the turn off to Yellow Patch.

            “Teachers only stayed for a short time.  I don’t know whether it was policy for them to stay only a year, or whether they left because of loneliness.  Although they stayed in a room in our house, my mother was in her thirties and Miss Tardent was only 18, so she must have missed people of her own age.  Then Gladys Heaney came as teacher and she was there when war was declared in 1914.  She was replaced by Miss Pocock who was quite elderly.  Although I didn’t like her very much, I was obliged to go walking with her simply because she asked me and I couldn’t very well refuse.”

The Cape Moreton Class of 1914

Extract from ‘Moreton Bay People – The Complete Collection’.

“JESSANARRY” (The Wadsworths of Moreton Island) – Part 3

 In August of 1962 Tangalooma closed down due to a lack of whales. However, this was not to be the end for the buildings at Tangalooma, and in December 1963 the Tangalooma tourist resort was opened.  The old flensing deck where the whale carcasses had been dismembered was converted to a tennis court and the factory below to a shop, squash courts, and laundry.  

            Also in 1963 with the closure of the Cowan Cowan signal station Harry Wadsworth retired from the Harbours and Marine Department.  Erosion of the shoreline had on three previous occasions forced the Wadsworths to move house.  Next to the now deserted signal station was a large cement slab which had previously been the foundation of a club for the officers of the 1000 men who had been stationed there during WWII.  This slab proved to be the ideal foundation for Harry to build a retirement bungalow for himself and Jessie.   They named it “Jessanarry”.  They played bowls on its extensive lawn, while inside, Jessie now had a home for her extensive shell collection, the result of a lifetime’s beach-combing.

            Harry knew Moreton Island like the back of his hand, and, more importantly for his many visitors, where to catch the fish.  This knowledge and news of his catches quickly spread to such an extent that prominent identities from businessmen to the Governor himself would take him fishing with them.

Harry Wadsworth holding Lunar Tailed Rock Cod, Cape Moreton 1978 (photo courtesy Alan Counter)

            Harry and Jessie Wadsworth became known as the King and Queen of Moreton and visitors to the Tanglaooma resort would ask to be taken up the beach to Cowan Cowan for an audience.  Conversely, the Wadsworths would visit the resort once a fortnight to pick up their stores and for a chat.

            When Harry became sick, because he could not see the water from his house, members of the Moreton Bay Boat Club built him a shelter overlooking the Bay.  Adrian Dalgarno, one of the Boat Club members and a frequent visitor to Moreton, recalls Harry sitting there for hours with a tape recorder capturing the sounds of the water, birds, and anyone who came to visit him.

            Harry died in 1979 after 41 years of marriage to Jessie.  She followed him in 1985.

            At age 82, Jessie was to say of her lifetime on Moreton: “It’s the sort of life I have liked – it’s never been too quiet or too isolated for me.  I think you have got to be the type of person who loves Nature and loves the quiet and doesn’t want to be rushing around to discos and all that.  I reckon I am a good advertisement for the lifestyle on Moreton Island.  I can still look after my own house, keep the garden in reasonable order, cook and teach my neighbours how to crochet.”

            During her last years she had campaigned to restrict mineral sand mining on the island and the use of 4 wheel drive vehicles, maintaining that future generations were entitled to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of Moreton’s unspoilt bush and beach.  Groups such as the Moreton Island Protection Committee are continuing the fight which she began.

            In his later years, Harry was to sum up the philosophy of his life with Jessie: 

            “We’ve always walked everywhere, and barefoot at that.  This island has been a paradise which for years we had virtually to ourselves.  To live together so isolated for so long, you’ve got to have the right woman.  And if you have your health too, what else do you need?”

            What else indeed.

Extract from ‘Moreton Bay People – The Complete Collection’.

The Cape Moreton Light

During 1856, with vessels now entering Moreton Bay via the northern entrance between Bribie and Moreton Islands, the New South Wales Government erected the Cape Moreton lighthouse, a stone tower 23 metres high and 120 metres above sea-level. This lighthouse, with its original lens, is still in use.

The stone for the lighthouse and the light keepers’ cottages was quarried at first from the immediate neighbourhood of the works, but it was found to be of bad quality underneath the hard top and the remainder was obtained from a nearby hill. The lantern was of iron with 16 sides. The government schooner Spitfire carried the lantern and many of the other items for the lighthouse from Brisbane to Moreton Island, landing them at the pilot station (at Yellow Patch) whence they were transported overland to the site. Such an important and interesting event did the operations of the new light prove to be that pleasure cruises to view the lighthouse were run on the (paddle) steamer Breadalbane, taking about 100 passengers from Ipswich and Brisbane, with music and dancing enjoyed on board while in the river.

Cape Moreton Light early 1900s. To right is Superintendent’s House. The picket fence surrounds the well.

Clair Craig (daughter of early 1900’s keeper, George P. Byrne):

When shipping approached from south or north the Watch House at Cape Moreton would signal (with flags during the day, Morse at night) “Do you want a pilot?”  If the ship required a pilot to guide it into port, we then notified them on board the pilot boat which was anchored near us at the Yellow Patch in the shelter of the island, and they went out to meet the approaching ship. The pilot would then board the ship and guide it up to Brisbane, the entrance being rather hazardous due to sand banks.  After berthing he might stay in Brisbane for a few days break before re-joining the pilot boat.  The pilots lived aboard, so they were always glad to visit us for a break on dry land.  We used to watch them coming up the narrow track to the Cape.  We always knew Captain Scott by his attire of white duck pants and a black coat.  He would stay with us for a few days.  We had an upright piano in our house which my father imported from America in 1900.  Both my mother and Captain Scott were good pianists, and they loved playing duets together. 

Cape Moreton Lighthouse 1854

Kevin Mohr (relief keeper):

Cape Moreton is the worst lighthouse I’ve ever been on because it has a spiral staircase and when you get to the top, there is no flooring and you have to step out onto a vertical ladder with nothing between you and the ground floor far below. I never liked that – especially in the middle of the night when you’re half asleep.

I went up to Cape Moreton Lighthouse a couple of times. After the American Liberty ship Rufus King mistook Point Lookout for Cape Moreton during the war and went aground, it was decided (in 1942) to paint two red bands on the Cape Moreton Lighthouse to prevent any further repetition of this mistake.

Cape Moreton Lighthouse today (Photo Rebecca Heard)