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weak to be seen against the increasing number of background lights in Simon’s Town and

in 1992 the South African Navy paid for a cable from the mainland to electrify the light.

By 1994 the jetty had deteriorated to such an extent that it was decided to replace it with a

helipad. This was constructed of six tons of 316 rectangular hollow-section stainless steel
units.

Slangkop Lighthouse

In 1906 the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, Sir Francis Hely-Hutchinson, appointed a

commission to report on the improvements of and additions to the existing lighthouse
system around the Southern Cape coast.

One of the recommendations of this commission was the establishment of a lighthouse at

Slangkop. The report stated that ships sailing from Cape Town lost sight of Green Point

lighthouse before they were half way down the west coast of the Peninsula and it was a
long time before they sighted Cape Point. Several ships had been wrecked on this coast

because of this, including the Kakapo in May 1900. (Fig. 1.7). She had left Cape Town in

foul weather and after losing Green Point Light mistook Chapman's Peak for Cape Point,
turned to port, and steamed straight onto Long Beach at Noordhoek where her remains can

still be seen to-day.

In 1913 tenders were called for by W. T. Douglass, a consulting engineer acting on behalf
of the High Commissioner for the Union of South Africa, for the structure and equipment

for a lighthouse at Slangkop with the focal plane of the light to be 100 ft. above sea level.

Although the construction was completed in 1914 (Fig. 1.8), because of the First World

War, the light was only put into operation on 14 March 1919 when it was switched on by
Cooper’s other daughter, Esly.

In 1936 the petroleum vapour burner was replaced by a 4 kW electric lamp which was run

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