Thursday, January 04, 2007

ROMAN ROCK - Simon's Town


ROMAN ROCK – Simon’s town

Roman Rock is the only lighthouse on the South African coast to be constructed on a rock which is continuously awash at high tide. This lighthouse is situated on an isolated rock at the entrance to the naval harbour at Simon’s town in False Bay. It consists of a circular cast iron tower which is painted white. The light has a range of 13 nautical miles. Roman Rock has been in operation since September 1861. In the early days, the lighthouse had to be operated manually and two men were employed as live in keepers. When acetylene gas apparatus was installed in 1919 personnel were no longer required to live at the lighthouse. This photo was taken from a lookout point above the harbour at Simon’s town.

No comments: