The Cape Rachado Lighthouse () is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

located at Cape Rachado (), in

Alor Gajah District Alor Gajah District, formerly known as Northern District, is one of the three administrative districts of Malacca, Malaysia. It borders Tampin District, Rembau District and Port Dickson District (including the exclave of Tanjung Tuan) in Negeri ...

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. The lighthouse is believed to be the oldest in the country, its history allegedly dating back to Portuguese rule of Malacca during the 16th century, although the present structure is a 19th-century construction.

History

The early history of the lighthouse remains largely unverified, with unofficial accounts by locals tracing the lighthouse's history back to a period following the conquest of Malacca by Portugal in 1511. The Portuguese government in Malacca vested interest in the construction of a lighthouse to guide its ships through the narrow

Straits of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...

, completing the first iteration of the structure on Cape Rachado (a name given by the Portuguese, meaning "Broken Cape") in the 16th century. Possession of the lighthouse was handed over to the Dutch VOC, alongside Malacca in entirety in 1641, and a second version of the building was claimed to have been built in 1817, during temporary rule by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

under

William Farquhar Major-General William Farquhar (26 February 1774 – 11 May 1839) was a Madras Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the resident of Malacca from 1803 to 1818 and the resident of Singapore from 1819 to 1823. Early life Far ...

, seven years before Malacca's total changeover to the British in 1824. The present lighthouse was constructed in 1863, during Malacca's status as a British-ruled

Straits Settlement The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

, and remains active as of 2008. In 1990, a concrete tower was built by to the original lighthouse to house a

MEASAT MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd.) is a Malaysian communications satellite operator that owns and operates the MEASAT (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) and AFRICASAT spacecraft. The company provides s ...

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

Design and location

The current lighthouse erected in 1863 consists of a 24-metre (79 feet) high circular tower with a lantern and gallery, and adjoining double storey keeper's house at the base, both constructed of

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

and

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

ed. An additional tower completed in 1990 was constructed using reinforced concrete, and holds a

, designed to monitor ship traffic in the Strait of Malacca and aid in communications, at the top of the structure. The lighthouse is entirely based on a fort-like foundation. The lighthouse is located on a summit at Cape Rachado roughly 100 meters inland, and is enclosed within woodland, which makes the lighthouse's location an ideal area for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

. Access to the lighthouse is largely restricted to travel by foot, with the immediate site accessible only via two stairwells: a spiral staircase with 72 steps and a stone staircase behind the lighthouse, the latter serving as an easier access point to the lighthouse.

References

{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1817 Lighthouses completed in 1863 Lighthouses in Malaysia Buildings and structures in Malacca Tourist attractions in Malacca Portuguese colonial architecture in Malaysia

History

Design and location

See also

References