Dondra Head Lighthouse

Dondra Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Dondra Head, Dondra, the southernmost point in Sri Lanka and is Sri Lanka's tallest lighthouse,[1] and also one of the tallest in South East Asia. Dondra Head lighthouse is operated and maintained by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Dondra Head Lighthouse
Dondra Head lighthouse
Sri Lanka
LocationDondra Head
Southern Province
Sri Lanka
Coordinates5°55′16.71″N 80°35′38.73″E
Year first constructed1890
Constructionbrick tower
Tower shapeoctagonal tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / patternwhite tower, yellow windows
Tower height49 m (161 ft)
Focal height47 metres (154 ft)
Light sourcemains power
Range28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 5s.[1]
Admiralty numberF0836
NGA number27276
ARLHS numberSLI-001
Managing agentSri Lanka Ports Authority

The lighthouse is near the village of Dondra, and is approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Matara. The name Dondra is a synonym for "Devi-Nuwara" in the local Sinhala language, "Devi" meaning "Gods" and "Nuwara" meaning "City". Dondra is therefore derived to mean "City of the Gods".

History

Dondra Head Lighthouse was designed by Sir James Nicholas Douglass, with construction, by William Douglass of the Imperial Lighthouse Service,[1] commencing in November 1887.[2] All the building materials including the bricks and steel were imported from England. The granite rock was supplied from quarries at Dalbeattie in Scotland and Penryn in Cornwall. The lighthouse was completed and commissioned in March 1890.[2][3] The combined cost of erection of the lighthouse and the Barberyn Lighthouse was £30,000 and was paid for by dues collected at the Basses lighthouses.[2]

Lens

Dondra Head was one of a limited number of lighthouses that were designed to house the large Hyperradiant Fresnel lenses that became available at the end of the 19th century. Four of these lenses were used in Sri Lankan lights, all made by Chance Brothers in England.[4]

Features

The lighthouse is 49 m (161 ft) high[3] and contains 7 floors, 14 two panel yellow colour windows and 196 steps to the top. Dondra Head is also one of four international lighthouse in Sri Lanka. It was modernized in 2000, with the introduction of a Differential Global Positioning System and is computer linked to the other major lighthouses around the coast.

See also

References
  1. "Dondra Head Light". Lighthouse Explorer. Foghorn Publishing. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  2. de Silva, Rajpal Kumar (1998). 19th Century Newspaper Engravings of Ceylon - Sri Lanka. Serendib Publications. p. 1354. ISBN 0-9510710-2-5.
  3. Rowlett, Russ (13 February 2006). "Lighthouses of Sri Lanka". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  4. "Hyper-Radial Lenses". United States Lighthouse Society. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
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