Originally named Cabo dos Agulhas (Cape of Needles)by the Portuguese owing to the treacherous reef that has claimed many ships over the years, it was later (because of the French influence in the area) renamed L’Agulhas. The Agulhas Lighthouse, the second-oldest working in South Africa. Designed by Colonel Charles Cornwell Michell in homage of the Pharos of Alexandria, the lighthouse was lit on March 1st, 1849. Some 150 ships lay scattered along the South African coast, many due to the treacherous Agulhas Reef. It is in memory of the countless lives lost and to warn passing ships of the pending danger that the Agulhas Lighthouse was designed and built. The lighthouse was declared a National Monument in 1973.
