As one drives or walk around the famous city of Georgetown the
fantastic structure of one of Guyana's most historical national monument can be
seen. The Lighthouse, a symbol of Guyana's rich history in trading. It was
first constructed in 1817 by the Dutch and later on rebuilt in 1830 by the
British. It is located on Water Street and can be seen from a distance. It has distinct
vertical red and white stripes and is thirty (31) meters or one hundred and three
(103) feet high. The brick structure was commissioned on 1 June 1830, when it
replaced a wooden lighthouse that had been built on the same site by the Dutch.
British engineers constructed the present lighthouse, reinforcing the building
by placing it on a foundation of 49 greenheart piles, making it durable nearly
200 years later.
A floating light was placed at the Demerara bar in March 1838 and a
system of signaling to the lighthouse was established. On 27 February 1838 a
Committee of Pilotage was formed and entrusted with the signaling. Before
establishment of the System of Signaling, a beacon had been erected on the East
Coast Demerara and vessels entering had to contribute to the cost of
constructing the beacon. The lighthouse was great help to ship coming into the Georgetown port since it is rocky and quite dangerous to ships in those times.
About a half mile east of Fort Groyne there
was a block house which was used as a signal station for vessels arriving, and
for signaling to Berbice. The coastal signaling was done by semaphore stations.
A steel balcony at the top of the Lighthouse offers a panoramic view of Georgetown and West Coast Demerara. The lighthouse currenty does not function, but it is now open to the public and to toursit to visit. A chance to feel as you are in the days when there was no navigational systems on ships and all that stood between them and their doom was this beacon of hope the lighthouse
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