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Lighthouse, Cape Point - First
Simonstown district, Western Cape

Date:1856-1860
Client:Cape Colonial Government
Type:Lighthouse
Style:Industrial Archaeology : Utilitarian
Status:Extant

A cast-iron cylindrical tower supplied by the civil engineer, Alexander GORDON of the Board of Trade, London, England. Robert Booty COUSINS (also responsible for the simultaneous erection of the Roman Rock Lighthouse in Simon's Bay, a similar structure) superintended the works assisted by a working engineer William Fairburn KING, both of London, England, arriving at the Cape specifically for their tasks.

The flange plate of the tower was bolted directly to the underlying rocks to prevent the Cape gales from toppling the tower. The light was commissioned in 1860. It was replaced by the second lighthouse on Dias Point closer to the coast (Williams 1993:32-36).


Books that reference Lighthouse, Cape Point - First

Hoberman, Gerald. 2011. Lighthouses of South Africa : pocket edition. Cape Town - London - New York: The Gerald & Marc Hoberman Collection. pg 36-39
Williams, Harold. 1993. Southern Lights : Lighthouses of Southern Africa. Cape Town: William Waterman Publications. pg 32-36