Colonel William Paterson arrived on 16 February 1804 aboard HMS Buffalo as the newly appointed Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land with the first settlers.

Responding to this ongoing threat to shipping, the local Committee of Pilotage recommended in 1826 that a lightstation should be built at Low Head.

[6] Low Head Lighthouse, constructed by convict labour and first lit on 27 December 1833, became Tasmania's second and only the third one to be built in Australia.

[7] The presence of Low Head Lighthouse has undoubtedly prevented numerous shipping accidents since its first operation in 1833, but by no means all of them.

On 10 July 1995, near the end of a voyage from Groote Eylandt with a load of manganese ore, MV Iron Baron ran aground on Hebe Reef.

It was demolished in 1888 and replaced with the present double brick structure with a new lantern room and apparatus, designed by Marine Board architect Robert Huckson.

On 5 January 1926, a broad bright red band was painted around the midsection of the tower to improve visibility during daylight hours.

In 1838, the original whale oil Argand lamps and the tin mirrors were replaced by a revolving catadioptric system, manufactured by Wilkins and Company of London.

When the new tower was constructed in 1888, the revolving catadioptric apparatus was retained,[7] and a cast iron and copper housing for the lantern (manufactured by Chance Brothers of Smethwick) was added.

Tasmania's only foghorn (also manufactured by Chance Brothers) is a Type G diaphone that was installed in April 1929 at Low Head Lighthouse.

An air-operated timing mechanism controlled the valves which produced the sound, which could be heard at distances of up to 32 kilometers (20 mi) from Low Head.

Early in 2000, the Low Head Progress & Heritage Association in conjunction with the Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service (the present owners of the equipment) began a project to restore the foghorn.

Today, the foghorn at Low Head Lighthouse is one of only two functioning Type G diaphones in the world, and it is sounded every Sunday at noon.

The first undersea telephone cable linking Tasmania to mainland Australia was laid between Low Head and Flinders, Victoria in 1936.