Diaz Point Lighthouse, Luderitz, Namibia, in 1979 is named after Bartholomew Diaz, the Portuguese Captain who took shelter in the bay and was the first to sail around the Cape of Good Hope in 1487-1488. The lighthouse is 28 m high with a lantern and gallery set on a one-story-high hexagonal stone base. Originally grey, the tower is now painted in red and white bands. The foghorn is 450 m north of the lighthouse.
The violent south-west winds which rage almost incessantly at Diaz Point drive sand with such force that one dare not venture outside without adequate protection.
The lighthouse serves as a marking point for the Luderitz harbour and is a welcome sight to the mariner navigating along this inhospitable coast.
The one-time German colonial authorities of the area put up their own lighthouse ca 1903 not far from the site of the present lighthouse and both beacons were functioning from 1 October 1910 to March 1911. However it is the second, i.e. the current, lighthouse which is in operation today. Never a popular station, with its remote isolation and harsh environment, together with high cost of provisions and other supplies, a tour of duty there has been an unattractive post. But it had to be manned and a number of stalwart lightkeepers have carried out their duties there.
See more on the keepers' experiences at molegenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/08/last-of-south-african-lighthouse.html or use the blog's search facility using search term Diaz Point.
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