Great Fish Point Lighthouse at 126 years & World Marine Aids to Navigation Day 2024
The 126th anniversary of Great Fish Point Lighthouse, the Eastern Cape’s fifth oldest lighthouse was marked on 1 July.
The occasion coincided with World Marine Aids to Navigation Day, which is observed annually on 1 July.
Great Fish Point Lighthouse is situated 25 kilometres east of Port Alfred, on a ridge at 85 metres above sea level. The 9-metre octagonal masonry tower is painted with vertical black and white stripes, and the white lantern has a red dome.
The rotating optic produces one flash every 10 seconds. It is one of few lighthouses with a lightkeeper. Martin Peterson, a second-generation lightkeeper with a wealth of knowledge and a treasure trove of tales, looks after the day-to-day maintenance of the lighthouse and the grounds.
The lighthouse is automated, and scheduled maintenance is carried out by teams from Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in Gqeberha. During scheduled maintenance visits, TNPA employees will check and service the optic, its electrical drive system and the control panel. They will check and service the standby diesel engine, which starts automatically when there is a power failure. They will also maintain the tower and other buildings on the premises, including the two self-catering cottages.
Great Fish Point Lighthouse is the fifth oldest of ten lighthouses along the Eastern Cape coast. The others are: Deal (1973), Cape Morgan (1964), South Sand Bluff (1931), Mbashe (1926), Cape Hermes (1904), Hood Point (1895), Seal Point (1878), Bird Island (1852) and Cape Recife (1851).
TNPA is mandated by the South African National Ports Act, 2005 (Act No. 12 of 2005) to provide, operate and maintain lighthouses and other marine Aids to Navigation (AtoNs) to assist the navigation of vessels within commercial port limits and along the coast of South Africa.
World Marine AtoN Day was established by IALA, to highlight the importance of marine AtoNs. South Africa, represented by TNPA, is a founder member of IALA.
About Transnet National Ports Authority
The National Ports Authority is responsible for the safe, effective, and efficient economic functioning of the national port system, which it manages in a landlord capacity. It provides port infrastructure and marine services at the eight commercial seaports in South Africa: Richards Bay, Durban, Saldanha, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Mossel Bay and Ngqura.
It operates within a legislative and regulatory environment and is governed by the National Ports Act (Act No. 12 of 2005).
For more information readers are invited to see here: www.transnetnationalportsauthority.net
Based on material kindly provided by Tamsyn-Anne Atkinson on behalf of Captain Sabelo Mdlalose Executive Manager: Lighthouse and Navigational Systems Transnet National Ports Authority.
Rapporteur: Paul Ridgway