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Book Author: Williams, Harold Year: 1993 Title: Southern Lights : Lighthouses of Southern Africa Place: Cape Town Publisher: William Waterman Publications To most a lighthouse evokes the romance of the sea, the danger of the tide and the solitude of the lightkeeper who stands watch over his tower, making sure that the light flashes its warning to mariners traversing a treacherous coast. Ever since man set to sea, he has created beacons on land to help wary mariners steer their vessels clear of danger. Like so many lighthouses of other lands, the history of South African lighthouses is built upon the skeletons of many valuable vessels and countless lives lost to the cruelty of a darkened coast. South African lighthouses have developed considerably since the first primitive 'navigational aid', a fire lit on Robben Island in 1656. It was the determination of pioneering men who, in later centuries, battled with the obstinacy of the authorities, that led to the construction of our Southern Lights. Their efforts were never easy. Often a lighthouse had to be built in a remote, inaccessible location; in thickly wooded jungle or on jagged rock. Living conditions at the early lighthouses were also very primitive. The keeper and his family had to reside in the tower and, in some instances, only one room was provided as a living quarters. There was also a deep feeling of melancholy and loneliness that accompanied a tour of duty at a far-removed lighthouse. Tales of tragedy punctuate the history - the poisoning of a lightkeeper's son on Robben Island last century, and the lightkeeper's wife who threw herself, through despair, into a well - as do incidents of heroism, such as the attempted rescue of a headman off Bird Island. The establishment of Africa's southernmost lights is traced up to the end of the manned era, and a technical description of those erected since the introduction of the new technology of fully automatic lighthouses is given. Southern Lights is a unique in-depth account of the lighthouses along the Southern African coast that covers in meticulous detail a previously neglected aspect of the maritime heritage. Link to WorldCat - find this book in a library near you Buildings linked to this book Lighthouse, 1956, Hondeklipbaai, Northern Cape. pp 129 Lighthouse, 1980, Ifafa Beach, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 80, 94, 140 ill Lighthouse, 1960, Milnerton, Western Cape. pp 130 Lighthouse, 1905, Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 93-94 Lighthouse, 1862, Robben Island, Western Cape. pp 56-60 Lighthouse, 1892, Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 93-94 (ill) Lighthouse, c1903 : n.d. : 1982, Swakopmund, Namibia. pp 89-90 Lighthouse Cooper, 1953, Brighton Beach, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 65 ill, 67 Lighthouse, Bird Island, 1873, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape. pp 25-31 Lighthouse, Bluff, 1867, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 65-67, 94, 152, 154 Lighthouse, Cape Agulhas , 1848, L’Agulhas, Western Cape. pp 10-20 Lighthouse, Cape Columbine, 1936, Paternoster, Western Cape. pp 121-123 Lighthouse, Cape Hangklip, 1960, Betty's Bay, Western Cape. pp 131 Lighthouse, Cape Hermes, 1903, Port St John's, Eastern Cape. pp 91-92 Lighthouse, Cape Infanta, 1979, Infanta, Western Cape. pp 138 ill Lighthouse, Cape Morgan, 1964, Kei Mouth, Eastern Cape. pp 133 ill Lighthouse, Cape Point - First, 1856-1860, Simonstown, Western Cape. pp 32-36 Lighthouse, Cape Point - Second, 1914-1919, Simonstown, Western Cape. pp 38-41 Lighthouse, Cape Recife, 1851, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape. pp 21-23 Lighthouse, Cape Seal, 1950, Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape. pp 125-126, 125 ill, 144 Lighthouse, Cape St Blaize, 1862-1864, Mossel Bay, Western Cape. pp 52-55 Lighthouse, Cape St Lucia, 1906, St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 95-99, 96 ill Lighthouse, Cape Vidal, 1985, St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 95, 141 ill Lighthouse, Danger Point, 1895, Gansbaai, Western Cape. pp 81-83 Lighthouse, Dassen Island, 1893, Yzerfontein, Western Cape. pp 60, 74-78, 144-145, 151, 153 Lighthouse, Deal, 1973, Deal Party, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape. pp 24, 46 ill, 145 Lighthouse, Donkin Reserve - Hill and Donkin Memorial Pyramid, 1861 : 1930, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape. pp 44-46 Lighthouse, Doringbaai, 1963, Doringbaai, Western Cape. pp 132 ill, 143 Lighthouse, Durnford, 1916, Richard's Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 112 ill Lighthouse, Great Fish Point, 1898, Port Alfred, Eastern Cape. pp 86-88 Lighthouse, Green Point, 1820 - 1824 : 1865, Green Point, Cape Town, Western Cape. pp 1-7 Lighthouse, Green Point, 1905, uMkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 93-94 Lighthouse, Groenriviermond, 1988, Strandfontein, Western Cape. pp 143 Lighthouse, Hood Point, 1895, East London, Eastern Cape. pp xv, 84-85, 152, 154 Lighthouse, Jesser Point, 1986, Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 142 Lighthouse, M'bashe, 1926, Elliotdale, Eastern Cape. pp 115-117, 116 ill, 152 Lighthouse, Mahlongwa Heads, 1892, uMkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 93 Lighthouse, Mouille Point, 1842 : 1865, Cape Town, Western Cape. pp 8-9 Lighthouse, North Sand Bluff, 1968, Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 135 Lighthouse, Roman Rock, 1861, Simonstown, Western Cape. pp 21, 23, 33, 47-51, 48 ill, 101, 144, 145 Lighthouse, Seal Point, 1876-1878, Cape St Francis, Eastern Cape. pp 68-73 Lighthouse, Slangkoppunt, 1914-1919, Kommetjie, Western Cape. pp 113-114 Lighthouse, South Sand Bluff, 1931, Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal. pp 118 M'bashe Lighthouse, 1926, Elliotdale, Eastern Cape. pp 115-117 People or firms linked to this book COOPER, Harry Claude Lee. pp xii-xv, 5, 14-17, 27, 37, 39-40, 55, 59, 64-67, 77, 91, 112, 114-119, 122, 154 TUCKER, John Scott. pp 57