Often the local materials were augmented with specialised fittings such as stairways, lantern rooms, lenses, and clock work mechanisms from overseas companies.

Instead, in the mid-1890s a site of little over 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) was chosen on land owned by Robert Bulcock, where he had built an observation platform on the highest portion of his property during the early 1880s, reputedly to keep watch for enemy ships during the "Russian Scare".

Early photographs show that the first Caloundra Head Light was built close to Bulcock's observation platform, which stood to the south-west on what is now Canberra Terrace.

As a married man with a large family, the arrival of the first lightkeeper also led to the establishment of the first Caloundra School, which for several months in the late 1890s was conducted at the light keeper's cottage.

[1] An incandescent vapour light, the first of its kind in Queensland, was purchased from Chance Brothers and installed in 1910 and by 1912 its 1400 candle power was visible at least 22–25 miles (35–40 km) out to sea.

The bulk of the expenditure was concentrated north of Cooktown where seven new lighthouses were constructed to guide ships through the Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef.

"Lighthouse Hill" became well known as a lookout and beauty spot, a place to which tourists and visiting dignitaries alike were taken to see the view, and take a photograph from Bulcock's observation platform (which still existed in the early 1900s).

With Brisbane becoming a major disembarkation point for soldiers and supplies for the war effort, the North West Channel through Moreton Bay became the only entrance to the Port making it a well used and vital route.

[1] For the greater part of World War II the Royal Australian Navy set up an observation post within the grounds of the Caloundra Head Lighthouse reserve.

The lightkeeper's cottage, no longer needed, was sold to a private owner and moved down the hill to Upper Gay Terrace in 1946 (this building was extant in 2009, but greatly modified).

The new structure was part of a pilot station scheme based at the Mooloolah River, and was to serve as a guide to the North West Channel and a signal light for Caloundra Harbour.

To save the structure it was moved in 1970 by the Golden Beach Power Boat Club to Woorim Park, adjacent to their new clubhouse site, where it was hoped it could continue as a tourist attraction.

In late 2007 the Friends of the Caloundra Lighthouses was formed to assist in the conservation of both lights, which were leased to the Sunshine Coast Regional Council in 2010.

Located close to the heart of town and behind Kings Beach, the site is now surrounded by suburban and medium-rise development, yet maintains extensive views over the city of Caloundra to the ocean, Moreton Island, Pumicestone Passage and the Glasshouse Mountains.

[1] The rectangular-shaped site, as encompassed by the heritage boundary and corresponding almost exactly with the 1896 extent of the lighthouse reserve, covers an area of 868 square metres and is orientated north–south.

The northern boundary is made by Arthur Street, a long straight road descending steeply from the intersection with Canberra Terrace at the north-western corner of the park.

Single residences occupy the allotments to the east of the site, while a number of medium-rise residential unit blocks have been built from the adjacent property to the south down Canberra Terrace.

The cylindrical lantern base is constructed from 4.5-millimetre (0.18 in) thick steel plates, with a hatch door on the northern side to allow access to the exterior gallery.

The narrow gallery that encircles the lantern has a hardwood timber floor supported by cast iron brackets, and a lightweight tubular balustrade, also painted red.

The tower base measures 2.7 square metres (29 sq ft) and features a rectangular window on each face (at various heights in line with the internal staircase).

[1] From the ground level entrance door on the western side of the tower, a spiral concrete staircase with steel tubular handrail winds around a central service duct before arriving in the near-centre of the observation room.

Apart from an enclosed toilet in the north-west corner, the observation room is an open space with a central pillar that contains cavities for services that link to the roof level.

The narrow balcony has a concrete floor and a balustrade made from two tubular steel rails and widely separated balusters covered in asbestos cement sheeting rendered with pebble-dash on the exterior face.

[1] At the far north-west end of the balcony is a steel ladder with safety grille, which provides access to the flat concrete roof of the observation room.

A waist-height, tubular metal balustrade, with fibre cement panels attached, runs around the edge of this area, with the lantern that once housed the 1968 sealed beam array light located in the centre.

The flat concrete roof overhangs on the north and south sides to form a narrow awning, and a projecting brick sill runs around the building beneath high windows.

To the east of the garden bed is a boulder set in a round concrete footing with a memorial plaque dedicated to World War II servicemen attached (erected 1991).

In their location, materials and design, the Caloundra Lighthouses (constructed in 1896 and 1968) are important in demonstrating aspects of the evolution of marine navigation along the Queensland coast.

Located on a prominent site in a town that developed largely due to tourism, the old lighthouse on the hill was one of the most visited and most photographed early tourist attractions in Caloundra.

Both the symbolic and functional nature of the 1896 lighthouse contributed to Caloundra's sense of identity as a popular seaside resort with a role in navigating the North West Channel into Brisbane.