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off a 110-volt DC generator powered by a three-phase electric motor. A Ruston Hornsby

horizontal diesel engine and 110 volt generator, similar to that used in the electrification of

more remote lighthouses, was installed as a stand-by unit. In 1974 the direct current 110
volt system was replaced by a 220 volt alternating current supply taken from the municipal

supply, and the lamp was changed to 1,5 kW which gives only slightly less illumination
than the old 4 kW bulb.

During the 1960s the lighthouse was made into a South African research and development

workshop and several power and automation developments suitable for South African

conditions resulted from the work done there.

Cape Hangklip Lighthouse

A programme of six new lighthouses on the South African coast was started in 1960 with

Cape Hangklip being one of the first of these. It is Cape Point’s partner defining the east
side of the entrance to False Bay.

It was the first fully automatic and self-contained lighthouse and its construction was

intended to be the standard to be used as an economical yet strong and maintenance-free

structure. But this was not to be, because of the development of pre-fabricated aluminium
towers. The tower was constructed using a slip-form shutter with the tower being cast in a

continuous process and finished in only seven days. The lighthouse was commissioned in
November 1960.

Conclusion

The four lighthouses of the South Peninsula area were constructed in the 100 year period
between 1860 and 1960. Three of them have a number of unique characteristics among

South African lights: the most powerful (Cape Point), the tallest (Slangkop), and the only

one built on a rock submerged at high tide (Roman Rock). All of them are key installations

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