Waratah Nostalgia

Waratah breakthrough!

If you are a Waratah watcher see Andrew van Rensburg's latest blogpost for some astounding news:

http://waratahrevisited.blogspot.co.za/2015/12/waratah-wreck-breakthrough.html

Greetings!

Mole wishes all blog visitors a very Happy Christmas

 & Good Luck with Family History in the New Year !

The Last of the South African Lighthouse Keepers: Unexpected Visitors 2

A series by Suzanne-Jo Leff Patterson

The little ghost of Cape Point Lighthouse

Latitude - 32° 21' 24’’ S.      Longitude - 18° 29' 12 '' E.

15^th century Portuguese explorer and navigator Bartolomeu Dias called this rocky peninsula Cabo Tormentosa – Cape of Storms.  It has always lived up to its reputation with many ships lying wrecked along these shores.

In 1860, the first lighthouse was erected at Cape Point at 238 metres above sea level, with the expectation that it would be visible very far out to sea.  Contrary to their hoped-for visibility, the light was too often covered by clouds and rolling mists.  For this reason, when the Portuguese liner, Lusitania, was wrecked in 1911, the decision was made to relocate the lighthouse to its current, lower position, at 87 metres above sea level.

Japie Greeff shares another unusual encounter with us;

‘I was stationed at Cape Point Light from 1990 to mid-1993 and I very soon became aware of a little girl, about nine years old, who would often appear in the sitting room with me when I was watching television in my cottage. She was a dear, sweet little girl and would come and sit in the chair next to me and quietly watch television with me.  

Many times I attempted to find out who this little girl had been.

Was she the daughter of a Lighthouse Keeper?  If so, which Lighthouse Keeper?

Perhaps the daughter of a Captain from one of the ships of old, lying wrecked on the shore?  Which Captain?  Which ship?

Might it have been the Lusitania?  Eight people died when a lifeboat capsized from Lusitania, could this little girl have been one of those lost souls aboard the lifeboat?

What year did she pass away and under what circumstances?   

All these questions lay unanswered as no-one knew anything about the history which surrounded her.  I tried in vain to discover something about my dear little sweetheart and all I know, and can tell you, is that she was an endearing and gentle little soul.

To this day she still remains at the Cape Point Lighthouse and forever in my heart.’

The Last of the South African Lighthouse Keepers: Unexpected Guests 1

 

A series by Suzanne-Jo Leff Patterson

Cape Recife Lighthouse (1851)

The squabble

Latitude - 34° 01' 44’’ S       Longitude - 25° 42' 04 '' E

As essential as the stars which glide across the night skies are guiding beacons to the mariner, so too are the sweeping beams from lighthouses as they guide mariners safely along their coastal paths to their ports of destination. Many a captain, on sighting a lighthouse after hours of darkness, wild weather and high seas, would have felt a profound sense of relief in knowing that the lighthouse was manned by a vigilant Lighthouse Keeper.

Christmas-time was no different, as mariners went about their business and Lightkeepers maintained their routines of performing their duties. 

Japie Greeff spent a number of Christmas seasons stationed at Cape Recife Lighthouse on the southern tip of Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. The Head Lightkeeper on Christmas Day would often allow Keepers to lunch with their families and sometimes spend the rest of their shift at their cottages, but they knew they would always have to remain watchful to shipping movements.

Prior to the establishment of the manned light and often bathed in swirling mists and ghostly atmosphere, Cape Recife has claimed many victims on the deadly spine of rocks of Thunderbolt Reef, named after the steam-driven man o’ war, HMS Thunderbolt, which ran onto the reef in 1847.

During its lifetime, Cape Recife Light appears to have been an ill-fated Lighthouse and after Lighthouse Keeper G Feather resigned in 1855, a strange pattern emerged.  Subsequent to his departure, Lighthouse Keepers up until 1870 were appointed  . . .  then dismissed. Lighthouse Keeper A. Thompson resigned in 1871 and the Lightkeeper in 1872 absconded.  A number of Light Keepers between 1949 and 1972 died at the Lighthouse.  Added to this intrigue, although the date is unclear, but thought to be in the 1900s, three Lighthouse Keepers had a squabble whilst working on hoisted scaffolding and two of them fell to their deaths from the balcony of the tower.

Japie Greeff tells us of his own personal experiences whilst stationed at Cape Recife Lighthouse from 1986 – 1990. 

‘During my nightshift and after my hourly inspection had been completed around the buildings, I went back to my office and sat down in my chair to relax when I was startled by a loud bang.  I got up to investigate the origin of the noise and noticed the galvanised dustbin lid lying right across the other side of the building.  The dustbin itself was dancing from side-to-side, as if someone was trying to tip it over. I stood there in absolute disbelief. There was no explanation to account for this strange occurrence.  Suddenly, I was struck by the thought of those two Lighthouse Keepers who had died at Cape Recife, having fallen from a scaffold.  Could this be the two Keepers still squabbling?  I called their names out loud and said, ‘Leave me alone!  I am here to do my job as Lighthouse Keeper and I have no part in your difference of opinion.  If you wish to continue to be quarrelsome, go elsewhere!’  All was quiet for the rest of the shift!

The next day I told my colleague about the night’s disturbances and he just smiled and said that he would often go out and tell them to shut up!

I soon became familiar with this ‘ghost business’ as these two could not settle down to each other.’

Will we ever know what caused the dissatisfaction?  Why were these two still in a state of quarrelsome disagreement?

Just perhaps, this Christmas, it may come to pass that these two Lighthouse Keepers will put their history behind them and find harmony and agreement, or perhaps, they are already well on their way to resolving their discord by amicably agreeing to disagree in the mistiness of Cape Recife Lighthouse.

Gadsden ancestry?

If you have the Gadsden (or variant) surname on your family tree you would be interested in my new blog at 

https://gadsdensoftheworld.wordpress.com/

At present I am discussing 17th c British Gadsdens of London and environs, some of whom were mariners, but this will in due course lead to investigations of the American Gadsdens.