Stewart Towers Memorial CairnPrint Page

The memorial cairn was unveiled in 1935 on the site of the Stewart Towers, the first lighthouse at Barrenjoey and the lookout was named after P.W. Gledhill, a noted local historian.

The Stewart Towers of Barranjoey, describes the first lighthouse at Barranjoey, which was actually two wooden structures located at either end of the Barranjoey headland from 1868-1881. Each had a lantern and were only considered temporary, because of the destructive termites and fierce storms. The footings of one of the towers still exists at the present-day trig station, and the other is marked by the Stewart Towers memorial cairn. The towers marked the entrance to Broken Bay, and after the "Dandenong Gale" of 1876, when winds of 153 miles per hour (245km/h) were registered, a permanent and more visible lighthouse (the present-day stone tower) was constructed.

The Minister for Defence (Mr. Parkhill) was the principal speaker at the naming of the Gledhill Lookout on Saturday afternoon and related the story of Barrenjoey lighthouse. He said the first mention of a light being displayed there was in a report dated November 17,1855. This referred to a weatherboard building at Barrenjoey from which a white light was shown in rough weather as warning to shipping.  An obelisk was placed at the site of the original lightthouse by the Manly, Warringah, Pittwater Historical Society.  Mr. Parkhill wrote in the visitors book that on behalf of the Federal Government he named the summit Gledhlll Lookout, after Mr. Walter Gledhill secretary of the society.
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 15 July 1935.

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