Renovations to uMhlanga’s iconic lighthouse underway

ENCLOSED in cloth and surrounded by scaffolding, the iconic Umhlanga Lighthouse is currently undergoing routine maintenance by the Lighthouse and Navigational Systems (LNS), a business unit of Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).

LNS maintains South Africa’s 45 lighthouses, from Port Nolloth on the West Coast to Jesser Point (Sodwana Bay) on the East Coast.

“The project includes the painting of the Umhlanga Rocks Lighthouse tower, interior and exterior, and lantern house. It is difficult to provide an exact end date for the project, since much of the work is weather dependent. The painting of the tower and lantern house is part of the asset’s maintenance schedule and is done every five-to-seven years,” said Siva Moodley, regional manager East for LNS.

Towering at 21 metres high, the red and white colour scheme of the Umhlanga Rocks Lighthouse is designed to make it a distinctive daymark.

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“A lighthouse is a fixed Aid to Navigation (AtoN), that is erected at a designated geographical location to carry a signal light and provide a significant daymark. The way the light signals is known as its character, and it is unique to each lighthouse. Similarly, the daymark, or the way it looks, is also unique,” said Moodley who was referring to the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA-AISM).

The lighthouse boasts a bold white concrete tower, capped in red accents with a striking top and lantern.

“The character of the light is group flashing three every 20 seconds at an intensity of 600 000 candelas, the measurement for the light intensity of a lighthouse beam,” said Moodley.

The construction of the concrete tower commenced soon after the opening of the Cooper Lighthouse on 31 July 1953.

The lighthouse was completed in four days and 19 hours, at a cost of R23 838.

“However, the Umhlanga Rocks Lighthouse was commissioned a year later on 25 October 1954. This was as a result of the decision to include a subsidiary red sector light, which had to be imported from England. This light is a fixed red light mounted on the floor below the main revolving light, that displays a 300-arc demarcating the prohibited anchorage area.

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“The proprietor of the Oyster Box Hotel previously assisted by reporting alarm conditions to the LNS Durban Workshop in Bayhead Road. Technological advancement has led to increased reliability, and the hotel has not performed the reporting function for at least the last ten years,” said Moodley.

LNS is mandated by the National Ports Act to provide, operate and maintain lighthouses and other Marine Aids to Navigation (AtoNs) along South Africa’s coastline.

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