Horsburgh Lighthouse
File:HorsburghLighthouse-JTThomson-1851-02.jpg
Horsburgh Lighthouse by John Turnbull Thomson, who designed the lighthouse, showing the island of Pedra Branca just after the completion of the lighthouse in 1851
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Location in Singapore
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Location | Pedra Branca Singapore |
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Year first constructed | 1851 |
Construction | granite tower |
Tower shape | tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings / pattern | tower with black and white bands |
Height | 34 metres (112 ft) |
Focal height | 31 metres (102 ft) |
Characteristic | Fl W 10s. |
Admiralty number | F1820 |
NGA number | 21188 |
ARLHS number | SIN-001[1] |
Horsburgh Lighthouse (Chinese: 霍士堡灯塔; Malay: Rumah Api Horsburgh) is an active lighthouse which marks the eastern entrance to the Straits of Singapore. It is situated on Pedra Branca island. Singapore's earliest lighthouse by date of completion, it is located approximately 54 kilometres (34 mi) to the east of Singapore and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the Malaysian state of Johor.
History
Horsburgh Lighthouse was named after Captain James Horsburgh (28 September 1762 – 14 May 1836), a Scottish hydrographer from the East India Company, who mapped many seaways around Singapore in the late 18th and early 19th century. He was called "the Nautical Oracle of the World". His charts and books allowed ships to navigate through treacherous areas of the ocean, saving many lives and property on the seas between China and India.[2] On the wall of the Visitor's Room on the sixth floor of the lighthouse under the light room there is a panel with the following inscription:[3]
Pharos Ego |
A.D. 1851 |
Translated literally into English, the Latin inscription reads:
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I, the lighthouse, to whom was given the name of Horsburgh the Hydrographer who is famous beyond all others in the Indo-Chinese sea, was constructed, if not primarily by the natural talents of the English merchants, then certainly by the power of the Anglo-Indian empire, for the salvation of sailors and in memory of the famous man, during the consulate of W. J. Butterworth, C. B., governor of the province of Malacca, in 1851.
Location
The lighthouse was built over an outcrop of rocks that for centuries was identified on maps as Pedra Branca ("white rock" in Portuguese). It was built by John Turnbull Thomson (1821–1884), a government surveyor. In the presence of Governor William John Butterworth and other dignitaries, the lighthouse foundation stone was laid on 24 May 1850 and the lighthouse was completed in 1851. The lighthouse is also known as Pedra Branca Lighthouse.
The sovereignty of Pedra Branca was disputed between Malaysia and Singapore until 2008. On 23 May 2008, the International Court of Justice awarded the island to Singapore.[4]
See also
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Notes
- ↑ Horsburgh The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved March 19, 2016
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References
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Further reading
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Horsburgh Lighthouse. |
- Picture of Horsburgh Lighthouse
- Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society World List of Lights (WLOL): Singapore
- Horsburgh Lighthouse on Lighthouse Depot
- Horsburgh Lighthouse on Singapore Infopedia
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing Chinese-language text
- Articles containing Malay-language text
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Use British English from August 2013
- Use dmy dates from August 2013
- Lighthouses completed in 1851
- Lighthouses in Singapore
- Pedra Branca, Singapore
- Towers completed in 1851
- 1851 establishments in the British Empire