Cape Pembroke Lighthouse Celebrates 150th Anniversary

By Jane Cameron, Government Archivist

Cape Pembroke is the most easterly point of the Falkland Islands and lies just over seven miles due east of Stanley. It is thought to have been named after Thomas, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, Lord High Admiral from 1690 to 1709.

In the 1840s the first navigational aid was erected on Cape Pembroke in the form of a wooden marker post painted red and white. This was replaced in 1854 by a cast iron lighthouse prefabricated in London by William Wilkins of Long Acre. The tower was 60 feet high, painted in red and white bands. The light was produced by 18 lamps burning rapeseed oil, which were lit for the first time in December 18955. The illuminating apparatus was first order catoptric (reflecting) and the fixed light showed in every direction seaward, visible for 14 miles in clear conditions. The lighthouse came under the jurisdiction of Trinity House in London.

In 1889 the tower was painted white overall as the strong sunlight had caused the red bands to fade. Then, in 1904 Governor Allardyce reported to the Colonial Office that he had inspected the foundations of the lighthouse and found the original wooden piles to have become quite rotten through damp. He said the brick and cement base had cracked and that he considered the structure to be unsafe. In view of this, a decision was taken in 1905 to rebuild the lighthouse on new foundations.

Work began on the project in 1906. It was a major undertaking, involving some 700 tons of new materials, a Trinity House supervisor and four contractors from Britain and a team of local men. A lightship light was placed on the peninsula while work was in progress. The re-erected tower was positioned about 200 yards to the west of the original site and a new lantern was placed on top, making the lighthouse 70 feet high from base to weather vane. The rebuilt light was finally illuminated again in June 1907.

The original system had been replaced by a dioptric (refracting) third order apparatus, lit by paraffin lamps. Mounted on a stand which revolved by clockwork, it shoed a flashing light instead of a fixed one and was visible for 16 miles in clear weather. The tower was painted black with a broad white band. In this form it operated continuously until the Argentine invasion in April 1982, when it was put out of operation.

The landing stage and crane was constructed from steel salvaged from the jetty which was destroyed in 1906. The landing stage was in use for some years for bringing supplies to the lighthouse from Stanley by boat. Use of the landing stage was discontinued with the advent of motor lorries circa 1930 and it was later pulled down when it was in a dangerous condition.

The light at Cape Pembroke today is a free standing solar powered unit with a racon, erected by the Fisheries Department in 1987. It was decided that the lighthouse had become redundant as a navigational aid.

A Trinity House Survey in 1983 proposed the installation of a new light in the tower, but before any action could be taken the lighthouse was badly vandalised and most of the prism and lantern glass smashed leaving the tower open to the elements.

In 1990 a programme of restoration was begun, financed partly by charities and partly by the Falkland Islands Government's Historic Buildings Fund. To date all the damaged lantern panes have been replaced, the weather vane restored, the tower windows re-glazed and the cracks in the foundation sealed.

The original aim was to restore the light as a navigational aid, but after much deliberation and consultation with Trinity House it was decided that it would not be practical. We would very much like to complete the restoration of the building itself by installing a third order optic to restore the one that was smashed.

The fund for restoration was initiated by the Governor at the time, William Fullerton, who made funds available for replacement of the lantern glass. Other funding has been from the Alastair Cameron Memorial Trust and this year a very generous donation from Stanley Services has made repainting possible.

For the past 15 years Rob Yssel has supervised the technical work necessary to keep the tower standing, including installation of the new lantern glass, making new frames for the tower windows, sealing foundations against expansion damage and keeping the metal in good condition.

Short Stories from Cape Pembroke Lighthouse (1860 - 1908)

Not all employees at the lighthouse were happy with their lifestyle in the early days. A letter to Governor Moore from the Principal Lighthouse Keeper in December 1861 was written to inform him that assistant Laurence Parry had given three months notice to leave the lighthouse. "He told me he didn't like to be up at night and the place is too lonesome for him and he doesn't like cold meat. He never ate cold meat before he came to the Lighthouse. He has a hot dinner every day with few exceptions and when cold dinner he has hot meat with evening meal. I really cannot supply him with hot meat for every meal." Mr Parry was not going to be considered a great loss as His Excellency was assured, "his assistance to me is so trifling that if he left today it would make very little difference. I would sooner manage the best way I can than board or lodge any assistant in future."

The Falkland Islands Magazine and Church Paper of November 1908 gave an account of a "near fatal accident" near the lighthouse. "Herbert Paice was fishing when he fell over the rocks evidently striking his head and landing in the water." The assistant lightkeeper, a Mr W J Kaye rescued him and did what he could "to restore animation". When this failed he telephoned Stanley and Doctor Born set off with "great promptitude" in a boat he obtained and was quickly on the scene. "After enormous exertions for two hours, natural respiration was obtained and consciousness returned after nine hours. Next day Paice was brought to Stanley in the ambulance and we believe that he is now but little the worse for his experience."

The tragic death of a 14 year old girl, Lizzie, the daughter of the Principal Lightkeeper, George Broom, was documented in 1885. Lizzie tied of typhoid fever after a "short illness", Governor Kerr wrote to inform the Board of Trade. "The Colonial Surgeon after making an examination of the water procured from the springs and water butts reported that the water was totally unfit for use." It was recommended that water should be sent from Stanley for the use of the lightkeepers.

John Pearce, Principal Keeper in 1906, had been asked to recommend one of his old colleagues from the UK as Assistant Keeper, but wrote to the Colonial Secretary, "I must confess that owing to the conditions of life at Cape Pembroke Lighthouse, I hardly know what to advise for the best. In summer time when we get such a run of strong winds the sand and bog goes cruel, it is terrible at times, while in winter time it is all slush and mud, or snow and ice. I should be very glad to have a trained service man, it would be a lot easier for me, but Sir, how could I honestly write and advise one of my old mates to come out to Cape Pembroke, I cannot do it Sir, he might start grumbling from morn till night which would not be very pleasant for me."

Fred and Charlie look back on their lighthouse days

Five men were involved in keeping the Cape Pembroke Lighthouse up and running: three keepers, a stand-in man and a transport man. There were two keepers at the lighthouse at all times.

Fred Butler started work as First Assistant Keeper at the lighthouse on June 19, 1971. He was promoted to Assistant Keeper on December 4, 1971. Following the retirement of George Lyse who worked there from 1956 to 1979, Fred declined the post of Principal Keeper and it was taken up by Basil Biggs.  Fred retired from the lighthouse in 1981 and this week celebrates his 89th birthday. He and his wife Elsie both speak fondly of the lighthouse and the times they spent in the area.

Although the lighthouse keeper's job kept him away from home for four weeks at a time followed by a two week break, Elsie said she would quite often walk to Cape Pembroke and get a lift back with the store supply vehicle having spent the day beach combing, fishing, picking mushrooms or just filling up the cake tins for the lightkeepers.

They were disappointed that the house next to the lighthouse was pulled down after the 1982 conflict and at the vandalism that was inflicted on the buildings. Fred said the Argentines were not responsible for the damage but didn't know who was. Elsie described the early 1960s built accommodation as "lovely"; she said there were three bedrooms, a sitting room, kitchen with a diesel burning Rayburn and bathroom plus an engine room and store room. A luxury the earlier occupation was not afforded was that the occupants were able to enter the lighthouse from their living quarters.

With the men keeping gardens, hens and cows there was a ready supply of vegetables, eggs and fresh milk - there may have been a bit of competition with the gardens as each man kept their own garden rather than a communal one. Other stores were supplied on a weekly basis and at that time Buzz Aldridge had the task of ferrying anything the keepers needed to them on a Saturday.

Fred said that routine tasks were carried out by both the lighthouse keepers between 8am and 1pm, which included one of them being cook for the day, "after dinner the night watch would have to get his head down".

The night watch was required to climb the tower every hour, "or more if the light wasn't going very well". A revolving mechanism needed to be manually wound up on a regular basis and the fuel pressure pumped by hand. Fred described the light itself, "like a Tilley lamp, only on a bigger scale. Anything could happen to it once it blew the mantle, it could catch fire or go out - the burner was that hot it would catch the fuel once the mantle went because the fuel was still coming up."

The lighthouse was renowned for being as shipshape and orderly fashion as the passing ships it warned of the dangerous coast that had claimed many before them. The many brass fixtures and fittings in the lighthouse were polished regularly as part of the keeper's routine, as was the giant reflector in the lamp room.

The lamp room was like an "ice box" in the winter, Fred said. It was also quite common for birds to hit the tower and fall onto the roof of the accommodation, "particularly on a dark foggy night they would crash into everything - with lots of wild cats in the area who were quick to nab them".

Fred's favourite aspect of the job was that "it was like living in the Camp".

Charlie McKenzie was on duty at the lighthouse on April 2, 1982 with Principal Keeper the late Basil Biggs and was initially unaware that anything was amiss. Fellow keeper at that time, Reg Silvey, was in Stanley on his days off.

Members of Naval Party 8901 had arrived at the lighthouse the previous day and Charlie wondered if "something was on" when he realised they were carrying live ammunition and radio equipment. "They told us nothing, they weren't allowed to. At about might night they disappeared."

The first definite word that an Argentine invasion was afoot was when Governor Rex Hunt put an announcement on the radio. Kitted out with World War II binoculars that enabled them to see reasonably well in the half dark and the moonlight Charlie and Basil kept a lookout from the top and bottom of the lighthouse. They shortly thereafter received instruction, "to put the light out". Charlie added with a laugh that after the invasion they lit it up again but on reflection thought they were maybe pushing their luck and decided to, "put it out and leave it out".

During their night vigil, Charlie was able to see the shape of ships bringing in Argentine troops to land in the now heavily mined Yorke Bay area. April 3 heralded the arrival of some 300 hundred Argentine soldiers at Cape Pembroke who spread out across the entire point with no more than ten yards between them.

Charlie's first visit to Stanley the following day went unheeded and he was told to return to the lighthouse. He expressed his amazement that after all the "bumps" they had heard coming from the town the previous morning and expecting there to be a bit of a mess, everything seemed to be in "pretty good shape".

After a few days of not being able to get in touch with Charlie by either telephone or radio, his wife Maud decided that she would go and get him in her Landrover. Argentine instructions were that a pass was to be carried at all times. Working as a nurse at the KEMH, Maud had no such pass but blithely waved a sheet of paper at the window of the vehicle whenever she was stopped and soon she was at the lighthouse. Maud said she "got Charlie packed up and brought him home, but Basil refused to shift".

Several attempts to get Basil, who had been working at the lighthouse for ten years, to stay in Stanley were made, said Charlie, however each time he would return to the lighthouse. "He just thought so much of the light." Eventually Basil was persuaded to stay in Stanley.

Charlie spent just over a year at the lighthouse, a time which he said he "thoroughly enjoyed".

First published in the Penguin News on 2 December, 2005 and reproduced by kind permission of the Editor

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