Lighthouse - Umhlanga
Date: 1954
Engineer: SA Railways & Harbours
Construction and history
It was completed in 1954 and first lit on the night of November 25, 1954, by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA). It recently celebrated its 70th anniversary in late 2024. The tower was built relatively quickly (in just a few days of construction) and came shortly after the nearby Cooper Lighthouse in Durban was commissioned in 1953. Originally, the site was planned in the grounds of the famous Oyster Box Hotel nearby, but it ended up on the beach promenade.
Structure
It's a 21-meter-high cylindrical concrete tower, painted white on the lower part and red on the upper section (including the lantern house). The focal plane (light height) is 25 meters above high water mark.
Function
It's an active, unmanned, and fully automatic navigational aid. The main light is a powerful 600,000 candela electric rotating beacon visible for 24 nautical miles, helping guide ships along the coast. There's also a fixed red light that serves as a warning - if ships see it, they're too close to shore (a useful position-monitoring feature for vessels outside Durban Harbour).
- South African Railway News. April, 1958.
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