Waglan Island (Chinese: 橫瀾島 Wanglan-dou) is a member of the Po Toi group of islands in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Waglan Lighthouse, a declared monument dating to 1893 stands there. Since 1989 Waglan lighthouse is automated and Waglan Island is uninhabited. The island also hosts a ground of meteorological observation and recording for the Hong Kong Observatory.

Climate

History

Pre-1900

Before the 1840s, there was not much sea traffic in Hong Kong. But after the Treaties of Nanking, Peking and Tientsin from 1842-1860, the

Qing government The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) was the last imperial dynasty of China. The early Qing emperors adopted the bureaucratic structures and institutions from the preceding Ming dynasty but split rule between the Han and Manchus with some positions als ...

was forced to open more trading ports.

was one such port that became strategic for merchants arriving from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, hence

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

were needed to guide ships safely to port. Notice to Mariners

Waglan Lighthouse entered service in 9th of May 1893, the layout of Waglan Island Lighthouse was designed by David Marr Henderson, Engineer in Chief of the

Chinese Maritime Customs The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was a Chinese governmental tax collection agency and information service from its founding in 1854 until it split in 1949 into services operating in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and in the People's Republ ...

. The original plan included the lighthouse, living quarters, a fresh water collection tank, and a

derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its Guy-wire, guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower ...

used to transport people and cargo onto the island.Ir Dr. S.W. Poon; Dr. K. Y. Deng; Ir K.F. Man
"The Waglan Island: The Lights, the Elements and the Skies - Research Monograph"
June 2021, p.64. It was managed by the

from Shanghai. Before Waglan Lighthouse entered service in 9th of May 1893, Waglan Island was an

uninhabited island An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...

. After the lighthouse's operation there have been a number of keepers who lived in Waglan Island. The working team who managed the lighthouse consisted of one principal

Lighthouse Keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

, two lighthouse keepers, five attendants (who did chores such as grass cutting and cleaning), and one cook. The team would spent one month on Waglan which was followed by one week's leave. Initially,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

keepers were used.

1900 - World War II

In 1 March 1901, Waglan island was transferred to 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 ...

after the Lease of New Territories and outlying islands in 1898. The Hong Kong British Government paid $2,943.60 to the

for the furniture and maintenance of the lighthouse. Employing 3 Europeans and assisted by 6 Chinese as the working team. In the coming years, a saluting battery featuring three 18 pounder

cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...

was installed for fog signals and defense. In 1923 a twin type

Diaphone The diaphone is a noisemaking device best known for its use as a foghorn: It can produce deep, powerful tones, able to carry a long distance. Although they have fallen out of favor, diaphones were also used at some fire stations and in other situ ...

was installed as a replacement to the cannons' fog signal. It produced a two tone blast, an upper tone followed by a full steady low tone of equal or greater duration than the first tone. The

was powered a with

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

and

compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps o ...

, and could be heard 5 miles away in the worst fog.

World War II

In Dec 1941, in preparation of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the original lens and lamp lens, along with the communication equipment were destroyed by the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. On 13 Dec 10:30 am the keeper and staff were evacuated and taken to

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Subsequently after the

Japanese invasion of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...

, Japanese troops were stationed on the island. Waglan Island Lighthouse was extensively damaged by the Japanese and the aerial bombings by Allied aircraft during

Post-war

In 1945 after

the lighthouse resumed operations, installing a temporary light for the purpose. In January 1946, the Hong Kong Civil Affairs Committee approved HK$2,050,000 for the reconstruction and modernization of Waglan Lighthouse and it's facilities. As a result of the funding, in 1950 a new light was put into service. Dubbed "World's most modern lighthouse" by

SCMP The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

, it was assembled from parts totaling 25 tonnes, ordered from two

companies and the AGA firm in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. from 1950 to 1960 Many facilities were also improved or built in the lighthouse compound. Including: a new building to house 25-ton generator and machines (1950);

Wireless Communication Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided med ...

equipment (1950s); three new water tanks (1953); The Royal Observatory, Cable & Wireless Ltd. buildings, Radio and Weather Station (1952); a new fog horn system on top of the engine room (1955). Damaged air raid shelter tunnels were also back-filled.

Waglan lighthouse

The Waglan Lighthouse on Waglan Island has been listed as a declared monument of Hong Kong since 2000. It commenced operation in 1893; it is one of the five surviving pre-war lighthouses in Hong Kong. The lighthouse itself was built by

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

lighthouse makers Barbier, Bénard & Turenne as one of two identical lights for the

Marine Department (the other was Beiyushan Lighthouse). Both were some of the first lighthouses in the world to use a new mercury bath rotating lens design that allowed an 8 tonne first order lens to be rotated with the push of a finger. They were constructed of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

, disassembled and shipped out for reassembly in their chosen locations. During the 1930s, two Chinese became second class

lighthouse keepers A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

: Wong Kai Chung from 1930 and Leung Chiu Tung from 1933. Both of them have been stationed at Gap Rock lighthouse as apprentices before being promoted and transferred to Waglan Lighthouse.Ir Dr. S.W. Poon; Dr. K. Y. Deng; Ir K.F. Man
"The Waglan Island: The Lights, the Elements and the Skies - Research Monograph"
June 2021, p.48-49.

Gallery

File:Lighthouse of Wagland Island.jpg, Lighthouse of Waglan Island. File:Waglan Island.PNG, Waglan Island as seen from the north. File:Waglan Island and Waglan Lighthouse compound.png, Waglan Island and Waglan Lighthouse compound.

References

External links

Hong Kong Observatory website

Aerial image from Google Maps

HKU research project (with photos)
{{Coord, 22, 10, 55, N, 114, 18, 12, E, display=title, type:isle Uninhabited islands of Hong Kong Lighthouses in Hong Kong Lighthouses completed in 1893 1893 establishments in Asia Po Toi Islands Populated places in Hong Kong