The tower was constructed through the endeavours of Sir William Hillary, who had been instrumental in several rescues of sailors stranded on the rock, and which culminated in the heroic rescue of the crew of the Saint George Steam Packet Company steamer RMS St George, when it foundered on the rock in the early hours of 20 November 1830.

The rock had been in the ownership of the Quane family for many years and in 1832 Captain John Quane, Attorney General of the Isle of Man, presented the rock to Sir William Hillary in his capacity as President of the Isle of Man District of what was then referred to as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, which subsequently became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

[4] Among the subscribers to the building of the tower were the Commissioners of the Isle of Man Harbours (£75), the Foxdale and Laxey mines (£2 each), the Mona Packet Company (£5), John Quane (£5), and the Tobin family (£12).

Another incident occurred on 2 July 1930, when the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessel RMS Mona ran ashore on the Conister Rock.

At the time the seaward side of the tower was coated in whitewash, and in view of the accident the outer face of the Victoria Pier was also painted white in order to make it more distinctive.

The Conister Rock has always been accessible from Douglas shore during periods of low water on spring tides, although the walk to the tower could be somewhat perilous.