Roman Rock Lighthouse

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Roman Rock Lighthouse
Roman Rockvuurtoring.JPG
Roman Rock Lighthouse
Location Simon's Town
Western Cape
South Africa
Coordinates 34°10′52.4″S18°27′36.4″E / 34.181222°S 18.460111°E / -34.181222; 18.460111
Tower
Constructed1861
Foundationstone basement
Constructioncast iron tower
Automated1919  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Height14 metres (46 ft)
Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markingswhite tower and lantern
Power sourcesolar power  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Racon Q  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit16 September 1861  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Focal height17 metres (56 ft)
Range20 nmi (37 km; 23 mi)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Characteristic Fl W 6s.

Roman Rock Lighthouse is a lighthouse in False Bay, near Simon's Town. It is the only lighthouse in South Africa built on a single rock. [1] [2]

Contents

The light was first exhibited on 16 September 1861. [3]

The light was electrified in 1992 at the request of the South African Navy. [4]

History

Designed by Alexander Gordon of the British Lighthouse Authority, [5] the lighthouse was a difficult endeavor due to the harsh conditions of the area, with fierce winds and turbulent seas, limited construction to a mere 96 working days annually, stretching the build over four-year. [4] The original lighting mechanism was designed by James De Ville, a London-based lamp manufacturer, and consisted of a revolving platform that carried eight single-wick oil burners set in polished metallic reflectors. These burners made a full rotation every four minutes. [5] John Williams served as the first head lighthouse keeper, overseeing a small team of two other men that rotated shifts every seven days. [5] In 1914 the lighting mechanism was replaced and the tower was no longer staffed by lighthouse keepers, [4] replaced by an acetylene gas cylinders that provided automatic flashes every six seconds. [5] The lighting mechanism was updated again in 1992 to be electrical at the request of the South African Navy. [4]

See also

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References

  1. "Roman Rock". Lighthouses of South Africa. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  2. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Western South Africa". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 2016-03-22.
  3. Williams, Harold A (1993). Southern Lights. William Waterman Publications. p. 49. ISBN   0-9583751-1-9.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Roman Rock Lighthouse". www.simonstown.org. Archived from the original on 2014-08-14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "1861: Since Its Debut, This Lighthouse Has Been a Real Rock Star". Transportation History. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2024-07-29.



A flight around the Roman Rock Lighthouse just off Simonstown harbour we did while working on a documentary in False Bay.