Title: Greenpoint lighthouse
Medium: Watercolour
Signed, inscribed, and dated 1868
Unframed: 14cm x 33cm
Framed: 37cm x 55cm
The Green Point Lighthouse was first lit on 12 April 1824. It was the first solid lighthouse structure on the South African coast and is the oldest operational lighthouse in the country. The lighthouse was designed by the German architect Herman Shutte. Building commenced in 1821 and was completed in 1823. In 1865 the building was extended to its present height.
Many locals mistakenly refer to the Green Point lighthouse as the Mouille Point lighthouse. There was indeed a Mouille Point lighthouse, built in 1842, but it was dismantled sometime in the 1920’s (Cape Town Heritage 2021:1).Tragically two of Bowler’s children died because of the treacherous Cape waters. One son of his first marriage died from exposure after a shipwreck in December 1863 and another by drowning in July 1869 (Ancestors South Africa 2019:1).
