History of the southernmost point

People from all over the world congregate at the southernmost point of Africa. Most have one goal, and that is to pose at the monument indicating the split between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. While the marker looks unassuming, the story behind its existence in the Agulhas National Park is not.

After the idea to construct the structure, we notified interested parties through the local paper and asked everyone who felt that they wanted to be a part of the monument to bring a rock. This could be any rock from anywhere, as long as it had meaning to them. says local resident Sura Pieterse.

Pieterse not only lives about 1km from the geographical southernmost point of Africa, but she is also one of the masterminds behind the construction of the structure that still stands today. People arrived by their hundreds on July 26, 1986. Each of the 600 rocks was numbered and individuals’names recorded.

She was involved with the construction of the beacon through the Shipwreck Museum in Bredasdorp where she worked at the time. Before SANParks took responsibility for the area, the museum was responsible for the management of the lighthouse and surroundings. I really wanted to do something at the (then) southernmost point to make it a real drawcard for visitors, explains Pieterse.

Initial plans only included a trail down to the point but this was soon changed to something much bigger. From the one side of the monument one would take a photo with the point in the background, and from the other side with the lighthouse in the background. Letters were sent to get permission for a big event and soon after that the then President, P.W. Botha, confirmed his attendance. From this point a lot changed.

Oceanographers were sent to the area to make sure that it was indeed the southernmost point of Africa. Soon everyone realised that the point was actually not the rocky point south-east of the lighthouse, but in fact about 1km down the coast to the west. For me the historical southernmost point is still of much value because people saw it at the point for years, says Pieterse.

Rocks were dropped off in July 1986 and after they were documented, the beacon was built by Bertie Swart and a number of builders from Elim. The monument was officially revealed on August 23, 1986. All the documents with the numbered rocks and their location in the monument still exist today of which Agulhas National Park has a copy in its archive.