Towers of the Southern Storms

08/12/04 7:53 PM

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Towers of the Southern Storms

Through the years Lighthouse Digest has given you many stories about lighthouses here in the United States and from time to time lighthouses in other parts of the world. There are several hundred books on U.S. Lighthouses plus numerous books on lighthouses in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other countries, but very little has ever been written about the lighthouses in South Africa. While many of us have visited lighthouses in the afore mentioned countries, most of us have never visited lighthouses in South Africa or even thought about visiting there. However, those that were fortunate enough to go on the recent Lighthouse Depot South Africa Tour found themselves on a lighthouse journey of a lifetime.

Upon arrival in Johannesburg, and allowing themselves a day to acclimate to the time difference, the Lighthouse Depot Tour-group of intrepid travellers set off on a journey to visit 20 lights and numerous other historical sites as well as an Ostrich Farm, and the tour leader's favorite spot (second only to lighthouses), a winery.

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, South Africa's lighthouses came under the control of the South African Railways and Harbours and was administered by a lighthouse engineer from what was simply called the Lighthouse Department. On the retirement in 1941 of the Chief Lighthouse Engineer, the lighthouses were transferred over the years to several other government agencies until winding up under control of Portnet. Portnet is the harbor business division of Transnet, which would be similar to the Transportation Department in the United States.

One of the most famous of the Lighthouse Engineers was H.C. Lee Cooper who served from 1902-1941. He was the last Engineer to serve under the Railways and Harbours division and his position would have been similar to the Chairman of the Board of the United States Lighthouse Service. In 1906, the government commended him for his zeal and the improvements he made to the nations lighthouses and that was only four years into his 35 years of service. Cooper knew lighthouses. Prior to becoming the Chief Lighthouse Engineer he had travelled to Paris France to study the manufacture of lighthouse lenses with world renown lighthouse lens and apparatus manufacturer Henri le Paute. He also assisted with the construction of the lighthouse exhibit for the Paris Exhibition of 1900.

Cooper kept a close watch on "his" lighthouses doing a great deal of travelling to visit the lighthouses and making sure things were running properly. In those days getting to the lighthouses was not easy, he travelled by large boats, small boats, and even ox-carts to get to the lighthouses. When he finally got a car, travel over the back roads was hazardous. While on his way to visit Cape Agulhas in 1921 he survived when his car was struck by lightning totally destroying the vehicle.

There are also many stories of bravery and devotion to duty associated with the South African lighthouse keepers. For example, P.E. Hill, who was the keeper and Hill Lighthouse never once took a day off in 34 years of service. Even in the early days of power boats, it took the keeper of Bird Island Light nearly 5 1/2 hours to reach the lighthouse from the mainland.

Portnet is keenly aware of the fact that South Africa's lighthouses can be an important benefit to the countries tourism industry. Gilbert Ruiters, head of Pornet's Lighthouse Service, said they are now even considering opening up some of their lighthouses for overnight stays.

This first-ever tour of the country's lighthouses by an American lighthouse tour group was greeted by Pornet and tourism officials with great enthusiasm and they rolled out the red carpet for Lighthouse Depot Tour.

At the Cape Recife Lighthouse in Port Elizabeth, Pornet even provided the group with a surprise helicopter ride to view the lighthouse by air. Fortunately, for Lighthouse Depot tour members, 16 of South Africa's 48 lighthouses are still manned and they were able meet and photograph some of the keepers.

Tourism official Mike Fabricius believes South Africa's lighthouses could soon become tourist destinations for world-wide travellers. He said that he would also like to see a coastal lighthouse route established that would include the countries "visually exciting small fishing harbors."

One thing was for certain, as tour members soon realized, South Africa's lighthouses are in immaculate condition. They were surprised and delighted that this country took such pride in their lighthouses, something that is lacking in many other nations. In fact the lighthouses are in such good shape that a recent study indicated that the country takes better care of its lighthouses than actually needed.

This tour to South Africa was such a success that Lighthouse Depot is considering offering another one as well as a possible tour to the Lighthouses of Japan, another nation with some absolutely beautiful lighthouses.

This story appeared in the May 2000 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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