Page 21 - KBHA BULLETIN 6

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In June 1851, because of the insurmountable problems of the lightship, the Lord’s

Commissioners recommended that a proposal put forward by Alexander Gordon for a cast

iron tower and light on Roman Rock be expedited without delay. The Governor, Sir Harry
Smith, was asked by the Secretary of State, Sir George Grey, if the estimated cost of

between £3 000 and £3 500 was warranted, and if the Colonial government could pay for
the project from their funds. Sir Harry Smith’s reply was that the lighthouse on Roman

Rock was of vital importance but that the benefit was more for the Imperial Fleet than the
local shipping, and that the Colonial Administration would therefore not bear the costs of

the construction work.

In December 1851 the British government accepted this but requested that the Colonial

Government pay for the maintenance and running of the light. But in February 1852 the

Colonial Government rejected this requirement by one vote. As a result, the British treasury
put the project on hold until July 1855 when the Colonial Government changed their minds

about the cost of the maintenance and the Governor, Sir George Grey, requested the
Secretary of State to reconsider the whole matter.

The British Board of Trade placed an order for the tower and light with Alexander and, as

stated earlier, the equipment was shipped together with the Cape Point light on 30 May

1857. Work commenced in the same year under the supervision of Messrs. Cousins and
King who were also involved with the Cape Point light.

The tower was made up of cast-iron segments bolted together with the base set into a

circular trench cut into the rock. Appalling weather conditions made work extremely
difficult and slow with the sea washing over the rock even at low water in fine weather. By

June 1861 less than 1 000 hours of work had been achieved, equivalent to only 96 working

days in four years. (Fig. 1.5).At this stage only thirty-six of the fifty-six cast-iron segments
had been fixed in place and the Colonial Engineer, Mr. John Scott Tucker, was sent to

South Africa to try to sort out the progress problem. Tucker found that, besides the

weather, disputes between Cousins and King were also a serious issue, sometimes even

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