Construction masonrytower Intensity 1,700,000 cd Opened 1895 Year first constructed 1895 | Light source mains power Height 17 m Focal height 45 m | |
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Location Van Dyksbaai
Western cape
South Africa Tower shape octagonal prism tower with balcony and lantern Markings / pattern white tower, red lantern Similar Strandveld Museum, Walker Bay Nature Reserve, Walker Bay, Old Harbour Museum, Green Point Lighthous | ||
Danger point lighthouse gansbaai south africa travel vlog
Danger Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the southern point of Walker Bay, near Gansbaai. It is a white octagonal masonry tower that has been in use since 1895.
Contents
- Danger point lighthouse gansbaai south africa travel vlog
- Dji inspire 1 drone footage danger point lighthouse 4k coverted to hd
- History
- References
Dji inspire 1 drone footage danger point lighthouse 4k coverted to hd
History
Bartolomeu Dias originally named Danger Point Ponte de Sao Brandao when he landed there on May 16, 1488. The name Danger Point is derived from the treacherous reefs and rocks below the water that make it very dangerous for ships to sail close to the coast.
The troopship HMS Birkenhead was wrecked off Danger Point in 1852. A barely visible rock (now aptly named Birkenhead Rock) 1.679 kilometres (1.043 mi) from Danger Point, was fatal for the troopship carrying young Welsh and Scottish soldiers and their officers and family on their way to Eastern Cape to fight the Xhosa. The Birkenhead became famous because it was the first shipwreck where the "women and children first" protocol was applied. All women and children were saved but most of the men perished.
More than 140 ships have been wrecked and thousands of lives lost between Danger Point and Cape Infanta, to the east of Gansbaai. In 1895, the Danger Point Lighthouse was built, providing more security for the ships in these dangerous waters.
A lighthouse commission of 1890 stressed the need for a light at Danger Point and in May 1892 engineer W T Douglass submitted a report on a lighthouse at Danger Point. The light was first exhibited on 1 January 1895.
