One Fathom Bank Lighthouse - History

History

First reported during the mid-19th century by John Turnbull Thomson, a hydrographic surveyor, One Fathom Bank is a shoal located in the Strait of Malacca, between North Sands and South Sands, 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest from the Klang Delta in Selangor. The sandbank had apparently emerged during low tide, with water depths of less than two and a half fathoms (4.6 m).

The solidity of One Fathom Bank encouraged the British to build a lighthouse at the site in 1852 to prevent ships from running aground on the notoriously dangerous shoal, and to provide other navigational needs. The first lighthouse was later replaced by a screw-pile lighthouse in 1874, followed by a third iteration in 1907, a concrete-pile lighthouse that was completed at the cost of £246,963.31 and remains standing to date.

The third lighthouse remained operational until the completion of a fourth lighthouse in 1999, which was erected parallel to the old lighthouse some 500 metres (1,600 ft) away at a cost of RM18 million to provide greater security. While the older lighthouse has been deactivated and abandoned, efforts were made by the Department of Marine and related authorities, such as the Department of Public Works and the then Department of Museums and Antiquities, to restore it in 2004 and 2005 due to its historical and architectural value. After the founding of Port Swettenham (Port Klang) in 1893, both lighthouses also acted as a beacon on the approach to the port.