Page 7 - KBHA BULLETIN 6
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“…. local experience can alone declare whether the haze and mists hang over
and cap the sea-board height in this region, in such a way that it would be
inimical to a light at an altitude of 800 feet.”
Commander Talbot supported this report and in turn submitted it to Lieutenant-Governor
Darling.
In 1853 the Legislative Council of the Cape concurred and advised Her Majesty’s
Government accordingly, at the same time expressing the hope for the same assistance
from the imperial coffers as was given for the lighthouses at Cape Recife and Cape
Agulhas. The Secretary for the Colonies referred the proposal to the Lord’s Commissioners
of the Admiralty for their comments. The Commissioners judged the site we know today as
Cape Maclear to be the most suitable and also recommended that the light revolve twice
every minute.
In November of that year George Pilkington was once again asked to prepare a design and
estimate for the project complying with the Lords of the Admiralty’s requirements. To save
costs it was suggested to Pilkington that a farmhouse be used to accommodate the keeper,
but this house was a thirty-minute walk from the site and Pilkington rejected the idea. After
the estimates had been submitted by the Secretary for the Colonies to the Lords of the
Treasury for finance Lieutenant-Governor Darling instructed Pilkington to invite tenders
for the construction of the lighthouse. Pilkington received two tenders in January 1854 but
they were not accepted because he considered them too high.
By now there was some doubt about the location of the proposed light and Sir George Grey
KCB formed a board to further investigate the matter. The board members were The
Commodore, Simon’s Town, Mr. Maclear, Her Majesty’s Astronomer, Commander
Nolloth of HMS sloop Frolic, and Lieutenant Dayman RN, an Admiralty Surveyor.
In January 1856, after considering for more than a year, the board put forward two sites to
be considered. One was Da Gama Peak but the other was preferred, provided that Da Gama
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