Historical LighthousesHistorical Lighthouses

ALLEPPEYALLEPPEYLIGHTHOUSELIGHTHOUSE

Researched & Compiled By

ICR Prasad

Researched & Compiled By

ICR Prasad

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Price : Rs.85

Publication ofDirectorate General

Lighthouses and lightshipsDeep Bhavan, A13, Sector-24

Noida - 201 301

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the

publisher

Typeset, Processed and Printed atIndex Printers, BTS Road, Edappally, Kochi

Edited by : Sri. K. N. Varadarajan Deputy Director General (Retd.)

D. K. Sinha Deputy Director General

Published in the year of 2012

I am glad to learn that the Director General of

Lighthouses and Lightships is bringing out a booklet on the thoccasion of 150 Anniversary of “Alleppey” Lighthouse

which will help all concern to know the role of this all

important lighthouse, played in past, in development of

the then Travancore State. Lighthouses have been

important aids to navigation tools since very long and

bringing out their history and importance, particularly in

development of trade, is welcome step taken by the DGLL.

I congratulate Director General of Lighthouses &

Lightships and their officers in bringing out the booklet and

hope that the effort will be widely appreciated.

MESSAGE

4th December, 2012

(G. K. VASAN)

4th December, 2012

PRADEEP KUMAR SINHASecretary

|…n“… E÷Ú®……Æ ∫…xΩ…∫… S…¥…

¶……Æi… ∫…ÆEÚ…ÆGovernment of India

……‰i… … Æ¥…Ωx… ®…∆j……±…™…Ministry of Shipping

… Æ¥…Ωx… ¶…¥…x… / Transport Bhavan

∫…∆∫…n ®……M…« / Parliament Street

x…<« n±±…“ / New Delhi

(PRADEEP KUMAR SINHA)

MESSAGE

“Alleppey” Lighthouse has completed its 150th Years

of operation on the 28th March 2012. Director General of

Lighthouses & Lightships is, rightly, celebrating the occasion.

On this occasion, a booklet on the history of the lighthouse,

which has contributed immensely in development of

commerce and trade of the then Travancore State is the most

desiring need. The efforts made by the DGLL and his staff in

bringing out the booklet are appreciable.

Starting from the days of log fire, the Lighthouses

have with stood the test of the time. In spite of advances

made in the technology, Lighthouses will continue to remain

the basic source of assistance to mariners for all time to come.

I hope, DGLL will continue bringing out such information in

public domain which will enlighten all concern about the

importance of Lighthouses.

4th December, 2012

Forward

¶……Æi… ∫…ÆEÚ…ÆGovernment of India

……‰i… … Æ¥…Ωx… ®…∆j……±…™…Ministry of Shipping

Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.)

n“…∫i…∆¶… +…ËÆ n“………‰i… ®…Ω… x…n‰∂……±…™…DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF LIGHTHOUSES AND LIGHTSHIPS

n“… ¶…¥…x…, B - 13, ∫…‰C]ıÆ - 24, x……‰Bb…Deep Bhavan, A-13, Sector 24, Noida 201301

V…±…… M……Ëi…®…§…÷r x…M…ıÆ (=. |….)

n⁄ƶ……π… / Tel No. 0120 2411168

°ËÚC∫… / Fax No. 0120 2411345

<«®…‰±… / Email : dgll@ndb.vsnl.net.in

Capt. A M SUREJDirector General

EËÚ]ıx… B B®… ∫…⁄ÆV…®…Ω… x…n‰∂…EÚ

Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships, one of the oldest keepers

of the national heritage tradition, manifested in Lighthouses, has embarked upon to

bring the interesting and memorable history of the lighthouses in public domain. Last

year, we took out two booklets on “Mahabalipuram” and “Kadalur Point” Lighthouses.

This year we have planned to add few more lighthouses in this series. A booklet on the thoccasion of the 150 years celebration of “Alleppey” Lighthouse is a fitting tribute to

yeoman service which has been rendered by this lighthouse in the course of its 150

years journey where it has been solely, till the advent of satellite navigation, guiding

vessels. The lighthouse is unique in the way that all the efforts put in building up this

lighthouse, 150 years back, was entirely Indian – an unique feat at that time.

The story of Alleppey Lighthouse from a coconut wick lamp to present high

tech metal halide lamp is in your hand. The research in digging out the facts and its

meticulous penning by the author Shri ICR Prasad, Assistant Engineer (Electronics) is

praiseworthy. I congratulate Shri ICR Prasad and other officers who have been

associated in this work. I hope that the information will be of immense value in

awakening the public conscious on importance of lighthouses even in present context

and shall be of value for future research.

I am sure of bringing out such publication in future too. Happy reading.

4th December, 2012

Land of Parasurama

Kerala was reclaimed from Arabian Sea by Parasurama for Saints to perform their penance. Parasurama threw his axe from Gokarna and the sea between Gokarna and Kanyakumari, where the axe has fallen, retreated to form a tract of land and that reclaimed land was gifted to Brahmins by Parasurama, and majority of that reclaimed land fall under the present Kerala state. Whether this story narrated in the Puranas is a reality or not, it is certain that Alleppey is a dereliction. The maps prepared in different periods of the last 1000 years, well support this.

The maritime history of Kerala is opulent and it can be tracked back to the period of Ramayana. Lord Rama, while assigning his trusted lieutenant Hanuman to search Sita, who was abducted by Ravana, had asked Hanuman to look for Sita at ‘Mujiri’ also. Mujiri was one of the famous ports of Kerala coast on the banks of river Periyar, that was frequently visited by Arabs, Chinese and Persians even before the era of Christ. St. Thomas’s first visit to India for Gospel in AD 40 was through Mujiri port, in an Arab vessel.

In a torrent flood of year 1341, river Periyar changed its course and destructed the Mujiri port and city completely, and this rationalised the flourishing of several other ports in this coast, those were overshadowed by Mujiri till then.

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Purakkad, the ancient port

Purakkad, around 15 Km south to present Alleppey port also was one of the busiest ports in Kerala coast with a history of not less than 20 centuries. Arabs and Chinese frequently visited Purakkad in search of Pepper and other spices from Western Ghats.

Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese navigator, visited Purakkad during his second Indian expedition in 1502, on his way to Quilon from Cochin, on an invitation from then Queen of Quilon. After Gama, several other fortune hunters from Portugal, like Varthema and Barbosa, also visited Alleppey and the Portuguese called Purakkad, ‘Porca’.

Purakkad raja had a cordial relation ship with the Portuguese in the beginning, and Purakkad raja even sent his naval force headed by Arayan of Purakkad, to help the Portuguese fight against raja Zomorin of Calicut, in 1524. But the relationship strained when the Portuguese Viceroy John Hendrique de Menezar doubted the loyalty of Arayan of Purakkad and shot him seriously, and infuriated on this incident, Purakkad raja declared war on Portuguese. The war ended in the defeat of Purakkad raja in a sea battle and Purakkad was attacked by Portuguese.

1n 1528, an alliance was formed between Purakkad raja and Zamorin to fight against Portuguese, but on getting wind of this alliance, Portuguese force attacked Purakkad in the absence of raja. The out of the blue attack scattered the defense and the Portuguese mercilessly massacred the people, took the King’s family members as prisoners, looted

the city, and put it on fire. Purakkad raja had no other way than signing a treaty with Portuguese and payment of a ransom for the release of his dears.

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With the help of Karappuram Kaimal, another local ruler, Purakkad raja conducted an attack on Portuguese in 1540 and captured some vessels. But the retaliation was formidable and Purakkad raja was forced to sign a treaty of peace and friendship with Portuguese, and the next century passed without any major tussles.

Dutch rule

The ascending of Dutch as a dominant player in thIndian coast in17 century was in the expense of Portuguese

and the ramification was a notable detriment in Portuguese trade in Kerala coast. The first agreement with Dutch for the supply of pepper and ginger was signed by Purakkad raja on

th20 May 1642. On renewal of contract in 1643, Dutch was permitted to build a factory at Purakkad to protect their commercial interests, on an undertaking that the Dutch will help raja in local wars. They could force the King sign a treaty, agreeing the monopoly in trade for Dutch, thereby keeping the other European powers like Portuguese, English and Danes away from Purakkad.

Emergence of English

Even though Dutch had an agreement on monopoly business with Purakkad, they skipped their visit to Purakkad several years and in one such year, raja allowed English also to do business at Purakkad and start their own factory. This created tension between Dutch and English and in 1665, after a war in which Dutch emerged as winner; they captured the factory built by British. With the support of military power and political influence, Dutch maintained

ththeir monopoly on business at Purakkad till the end of 17 thcentury and the through the first quarter of 18 century.

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Marthanda Varma Maharaja

Raja Marthanda Varma, who ruled Travancore (1729-58), with the support of arms supplied by British and the French, took over several principalities of South Kerala and this aggressiveness irritated the Dutch, for they apprehended loss of their trade monopoly in this area. The intimidations of Dutch were insufficient to restrain Marthanda Va r m a f r o m h i s belligerence and it ended in a war between them at Kolachal, where Dutch tasted defeat in 1741.

The forces of Tr a v a n c o r e , w i t h boosted morale gained from their triumph over D u t c h , t r o u n c e d Kayamkulam, the state bordering Purakkad on the south, in 1742 and made it a tributary. To e s c a p e f r o m t h e clutches of Travancore, Kayamkulam along with some other small tributaries of Travancore, forged an alliance with Purakkad in 1744 and stopped payment of tribute, and this coalition could gain the support of Dutch, who were licking their wounds after Kolachal defeat, and eager to regain their supremacy on trade in south Kerala, and the Cochin raja, who was a tributary of Dutch then, also joined in the alliance.

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When the tension between Travancore and the allied forces reached the flaring point by the end of 1753, the rebel forces along with the warriors from Purakkad and Cochin formed a defense ring near Purakkad. The forces of Travancore were too strong for them and the defeat ended in attachment of Purakkad to Travancore and formation of State of Travancore and Cochin.

Travancore and Cochin

Even though a treaty between Travancore and Cochin was signed after the defeat of later in 1753, this was reaffirmed in 1757, after a failed bid of raja Zamorin of Calicut to take over Purakkad, which lead to a treaty between Travancore and Cochin, to live in friendship, and help each other on attacks from enemies.

Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma, who was also called as Dharmarajah, took over the reign of Travancore after the demise of Marthanda Varma in 1758 and continued the policies of his predecessor, and signed another treaty with Rajah of Cochin in December 1761 in which the Cochin Rajah gave up all their claims on Purakkad and Ambalapuzha clearing all possible disputes in future and declared Purakkad and Alleppey as parts of Travancore State.

Dharmarajah’s reign witnessed several reforms and developments in Travancore that drove the state to prosperity, and behind this drive, was two able Ministers Ayyappan Marthandan and Raja Kesavadas and the vision of later turned Alleppey as commercial capital of Travancore.

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Divan Raja Kesavadas

Born to a Police constable and his prosaic wife in a thsmall village called Kunnathur in Travancore State on 17

March 1745, Kesavan wasn’t lucky to get formal education and started his career as a clerk with a local merchant Poku Moosa Marikar.

The shrewd and intelligent young tally clerk got the attention of Rama Varma raja, during one of his visits to the palace with his master. Impressed upon the intelligence of young Kesava Pillai, the King absorbed him to his personal staff. From the lower rungs, Kesava Pillai climbed the steps of official ladder with hard work and vision and reached the highest post of administration, Valiya Divanji (Prime Minister), under Rama Varma raja, in 1789.

In appreciation of Kesava Pillai’s administrative talent, the British Governor Mornington glorified him with the title Raja. Even though Kesava Pillai accepted the British honour, out of humility, he never wanted to be called as Raja. So he modified his name as Raja Kesava Dasan, declaring that he ever wanted to be the dasan (servant) of his raja and the State.

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Raja Kesavadas was trained under Captain Dillanoi in military maneuvers and tactics, and after the death of Dillanoi, he took over the post of Army Chief of Travancore. With the clever stratagem of Raja Kesavadas as Army Chief, Travancore won the war against the invading army of Tippu Sultan in Kalady.

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Alleppey Port

Alleppey Port was a dream project of Raja Kesavadas. He realised that prosperity to state can be achieved only through healthier export of the hill produce from Western Ghats, that had a boundless market in European countries, and the one and only minor port then under Travancore State was at Kolachal near Trivandrum. Even though ports were operational at Cochin and Quilon then, they were under the British administration.

He dreamed that a first class Port at Alleppey can attract vessels that were calling at Cochin and Quilon, and Alleppey had a geographical advantage of having a 8 to 10 Kilometer long sand bar, lying around 3 kilometer away from shore, with a safe depth in between for shipping, that can assure safe anchoring point in monsoon season also.

To turn his dream to a reality, raja Kesavadas selected the present Alleppey town area that was a huge vacant marshy patch then, filled with weeds and bushes, and the only occupants of that area were monkeys and foxes. He started with infrastructure development with meticulous planning, to develop Alleppey in to a well planned Port city.

As an open sea Port was the only feasible suggestion for Alleppey, and the merchandise for export, pepper and spices were to be sourced from the Western Ghats, better logistic support and storage facilities were inevitable. Water transport was the only developed transport system available then, and to facilitate the water crafts carrying the merchandise to reach directly to the port area, two canals namely Commercial canal and Vada canal were cut to connect Alleppey backwaters with port area.

Roads were laid on both sides and parallel to these

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canals, and crisscrossing the complete area. Huge godowns to store the merchandise were constructed on the sides of the canals and roads, and there were Ghats in canals in front of these buildings to facilitate easy loading and unloading of goods.

raja Kesavadas was well aware that, apart from infrastructure development, good traders are unavoidable for the prosperity of any Port. So he lured traders from Kutch, Sourashtra, Maratha, Udupi and Tamilnadu to start their business at Alleppey, extending them all possible facilities to settle down and do business with out any hindrance and with full support of the administration. The first ship laid anchors at Alleppey Port for business in 1786 and within a short period, Alleppey became a busy port and turned as ‘Commercial Capital’ of Travancore state. The net work of canals and roads inside the city, presented Alleppey another name, ‘Venice of East’.

During Raja Kesavadas’s period, a Hindu temple namely ‘Mullakkal Devi temple’ was built for worship, and a Palace was constructed for the use of Maharaja and his family members, during their visit to Alleppey. Muslims and Christians were allowed to construct their Mosques and Churches in the town, for worship.

Alleppey was considered as the Official Port of Travancore State and thus official designation of Alleppey Port officer was ‘Principal Port Officer, Travancore.’

First Lighthouse

According to the admiralty list of lights prepared by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Survey office, the

Lighthouse erected on the British fort in Telicherry, and

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stfirst exhibited on 1 March 1835, was the first Lighthouse in the west coast India. Since the Admiralty lists were based solely on the reports submitted by British East India Company and then by the B r i t i s h I n d i a Government, the list possibly omitted the Lights exhibited by Princely states of India.

At Alleppey, a fixed light was exhibited for mariners, from the flag mast, since 1820’s or at least at the beginning of 1830’s. It is evident from an order of Travancore raja ,

thdated 17 Mithunam of year 1012 of Malayalam Era (June 1837), sanctioning a hike in the salary (to Rupees 5- per month) of the two Light Keepers, employed at Alleppey port by Travancore Government, for exhibiting a Light from the Flag mast, that a Light existed at Alleppey well before 1837. A letter from the Master Attendant (Port officer) of Alleppey to the Divan of Travancore dated

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April 1938; also substantiate the existence of a light on the flag mast. Further, the survey report prepared by Lieutenant A. Taylor of Indian Navy in 1859 shows flag staff and a light on it, at Alleppey port; whereas the Admiralty chart published in 1860 doesn’t include Alleppey light. The egoism of British might have ceased them from marking a lighthouse under a Princely state, in the chart prepared by them, when majority of British Indian ports were functioning without a lighthouse.

Proposal for new Lighthouse

Proposal for a new powerful Lighthouse was mooted in 1858-59 during the Reign of Marthanda Varma Maharajah. In reply to a communication from the Dewan of

thTravancore, the Resident wrote on 17 March 1859 that, “A Lighthouse has more than once been proposed, and subscriptions contemplated but the scheme fell to the ground.” Even though the proposal for a major lighthouse was in the air for a long time, lack of funds was the main hurdle. To attract more and more ships and traders to Port, Alleppey Port authorities were not levying any port charges from the ships since its commissioning, and the port was maintained exclusively on the budgetary support of the State of Travancore.

ndOn 2 Edavam 1035 of Malayalam era, (June 1860),

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Travancore raja, on the advice of British Resident, decided to levy Port dues at Alleppey, to accumulate funds for the construction of a major Lighthouse and regulations in this regard were passed. Mr. Hugh Crawford, then Commercial agent to Travancore state and doubled as Alleppey Port officer also, was made in-charge for the construction of Lighthouse. Mr. Francis New Combe Maltby, then British Resident and Mr. T. Madhava Rao, the Divan for State of Travancore were there to render appropriate support and advice.

Hugh Crawford

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Mr. Hugh Crawford was born in Port Glasgow of thScotland on the 24 June 1816. Born in a port town,

Crawford selected the profession of a mariner and decided to try his luck in British India and his maritime activities in British India can be traced back to 1844, in Indian east coast. Crawford was the Captain of the ship that surveyed the Santapilli rocks of present Andhra Pradesh coast.

In 1847, Crawford was with the Marine Department of Madras state. Tirunelveli District Collector’s report of

th14 March 1847 shows that Crawford took charge as Master Attendant (Port Officer) under him, to look after Tuticorin

rdPort; but he resigned the post on 3 July of the same year. He was residing at Tuticorin and actively involved in business, when the overture from the Princely state of Travancore was extended.

The post of Commercial agent of Travancore was vacant then after the death of their incumbent officer (another Mr. Crawford and it seems that, these Crawfords doesn’t had any relations). The Commercial agent at Alleppey was to look after the duties of Superintendent of Police and Port Officer also and The Secretary to Divan was temporarily looking after these duties. Mr. Hug Crawford was appointed to the post on the recommendations of then British Resident, and his appointment order was signed by

thKing on 8 Karkkidakam 1024 of Malayalam era (July 1849).

Crawford married another Scot Ms. Mary Anne thCampbell at Galle Port in Sri Lanka on the 25 October

1850 and his first daughter was born in India in 1851.

Crawford took retirement at the age of 74 and returned back to England, after handing over his

responsibilities to his Son in law Jack (John) Rohde.

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Crawford, who is still remembered by the people of thAlleppey for his meticulous work, died on 14 June 1896.

Construction of Lighthouse tower

The Trouvaille of selecting the shape of tower might have come from the ‘Queen’ of chess; that also a white queen, the most powerful one. Cochin port was bestowed upon the crown of ‘Queen of Arabian Sea’ in the

th20 century; may be Crawford wanted to declare Alleppey thPort as the Queen of Arabian Sea in 19 century itself and

deliberately selected the shape of the tower.

For the construction of tower, Crawford had the assistance of Mr. Collins, the civil Engineer to the State of Travancore and Cochin, and they selected the best and locally available materials to build the tower. Best quality laterite stones were cut from the Western Ghats and dressed them to perfect shapes to buildup the tower, and for bonding the stones, superior quality lime prepared of the shells collected from the Vembanad Lake was used. The lime plastering remained intact for 150 years and the bondings of stones is still strong.

The first stone of the tower, designed by her thhusband, was laid by Mrs. Mary Anne Crawford on the 26

April 1860.

A teak wood spiral staircase from the base to service room, and another straight wooden ladder to lantern room were erected to take one to top. Teak wood cross beams were laid in landings to strengthen the tower and the lantern room floor was of solid teak wood planks. The lantern room

up to glazing level was of neatly dressed granite stones. The inside of the round lantern room was without frills

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and the teakwood linings and brass ‘hit and miss’ ventilators, normally seen in the British Indian lighthouses of that era, were omitted in the design of Crawford.

Lighthouse equipments

T h e l i g h t i n g equipments for the use in Lighthouses under States of British India were then sourced through the State Department in England, on the advice of the Elder Brothren of Trinity house, the authority to erect and maintain all British lighthouses

thand in 19 century, they invariably recommended fixed lights for Indian lighthouses citing the lack of expertise in Indian Lightkeepers on maintaining revolving lights, and the supplier was always M/s Chance brothers, Birmingham.

Even though a revolving light has an efficiency of 8 to 16 times than of a fixed light using the same illuminant, even the explicit appeals of Indian authorities for revolving lights were turned down by the State department, citing the incredible reason of unskilled Lightkeepers in spite of the fact that the Superintendents of all Indian Lighthouses were

thBritish in 19 century. For example, first order fixed optics was recommended for Muttam Lighthouse under Madras state in 1875 and a similar light was recommended for False point Lighthouse of Orissa state in 1880 by Elder Brothren of Trinity house. In 1878, Lieutenant F. Warren, Port officer of Kolkata Port trust wrote to the Government that the lighting equipment they required for False Point Lighthouse is a holophotal light like ‘the one installed

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at Alleppey lighthouse and reported as giving great service’. Both these requests were turned down by the State Department and outdated fixed optics were supplied to these stations.

One has to appreciate the foresight and proficient and obdurate decisions of Hugh Crawford to go for the latest and most efficient lighting apparatus for Alleppey Lighthouse, for the equipments installed in 1862 worked for a century without any major defects and failure.

Crawford procured the lighting equipments and Lantern room from his home state Scotland and the suppliers were J. Milano and Son, Milton house, Edinburg. The lantern room of 3.9 meter diameter and 1.9 meter high glazing, supplied by M/s J. Milano and son, had Gunmetal astragals, and copper dome. Unlike the lantern rooms supplied by M/s Chance brothers, Birmingham, this lantern had no internal linings and frills, but the structure was solid.

The optical apparatus, a holophotal one, had a unique design and it consisted of three panels with three dioptric lenses each on them, to project the light to horizon in three powerful beams. Each dioptric lens had a wick lamp as illuminant and a silvered spherical reflector at the back side.

The lantern and optical apparatus required for Alleppey Lighthouse were imported through Bombay Port and being a Lighthouse apparatus, top priority was given for the transshipment of the same from Bombay to Alleppey.

ndThe lantern was installed on the tower on the 22 September 1861.

Even though the dioptric lenses of Alleppey had a focal distance of 15 centimeter only, in the

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‘Admiralty list of lights’, the hand book for mariners to help them identify the lights, graded the Alleppey lighthouse

stoptic as 1 order, whereas the standard classification of optics according to international standards is;

Class of lightFocal distance in mm

1. First order : 920 millimeters

2. Second order : 700 millimeters

3. Third order large : 500 millimeters

4. Third order small : 375 millimeters

5. Fourth order large : 300 millimeters

6. Fourth order small : 250 millimeters

7. Fifth order : 187.5 millimeters

8. Sixth order : 150 millimeters

This mistake was pointed out by Mr. John Oswald, Chief Inspector of Lighthouses in British India, after inspecting this station in March 1931; but was never corrected, may be this unique system of optical arrangement doesn’t had a system of classification.

Capillary lamps

The illuminants of Alleppey Lighthouse were nine coconut oil wick lamps. In ordinary wick lamps, capillary action in cotton wick carries the oil from the container to the flaming end of wick. The Wick lamps supplied to Alleppey had a special arrangement of feeding pressurised oil through the wicks to increase the oil consumption and thus

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the luminous intensity of the lamps. To ensure proper airflow around the wicks and ample supply of fresh air for burning of wicks, long glass chimneys with brass extension pieces were provided.

Coconut oil

Before the advent of mineral oil and kerosene, vegetable oils and animal fats were used in lighthouse lamps. In European countries, colza oil was mainly used for lighting the lighthouse lamp due to its superior qualities than animal fat and whale oil. In India, Coconut oil was used in Lighthouse lamps due its qualities of low smoke and clear flame. Coconut oil was adjudged as best lighting oil and superior to colza oil by the lighthouse authorities around the world, and its only drawback was low freezing point.

Clock work mechanism

A clockwork mechanism was provided to rotate the optic along with the lamps in a constant speed of half revolution per minute, to create a flash in every 40 seconds. In a clockwork mechanism, the energy required for rotation is stored in a drum with rope wound over it and a counter weight hanging at the end of the rope. The gravitational

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force of the counterweight rotates the drum, and through a set of gears, this revolving movement is transferred to the optic and a speed governor attached in the clock work mechanism controls the revolution to a constant speed.

In British and French lighthouse equipments, the clock work mechanism had metal chains or wire ropes for hanging the counter weights, whereas at Alleppey, lighthouse equipment supplied by the Scottish manufacturer had manila rope on the clockwork drum, and in normal case, it worked with a counter weight of 400 pounds.

Commissioning of light

thAlleppey lighthouse was commissioned on 28 March 1862 and the lamps were first lighted by Mrs. Francis New Combe Maltby in the presence of her husband Mr. Francis New Combe Maltby, the Commercial agent and Resident for the State of Travancore and T. Madhava Rao, Divan. The character of light was single flash white in every 40 seconds. Height of tower from base to vane was 115 feet and the height of light beam above high water level was 113 feet.

After commissioning of the Lighthouse, in the thResident’s report of 4 April 1862 from Kottayam, was as

follows.

“This work was brought to a completion by the thlighting of the lamp on the 28 March, and I cannot but

congratulate the Sircar on the success of the undertaking.

The building has been completed without accident of any kind. It is a handsome Doric column of laterite of the

best description. There is not the slightest appearance of

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subsidence in any portion of the work.

The machinery of the revolving lamp is very beautiful and the light is very powerful and brilliant. I have had the opportunity of seeing it from the Cottayam church, a distance of 14 miles, at which distance it is a bright and the revolutions steady and exact.

It is now necessary to make arrangements for the conservancy of the valuable property and as requested by Dewan, I conferred with Mr. Crawford on the subject.

It is difficult at present to determine what remuneration will be sufficient to secure the services of competent person to clean and take care of this valuable machinery.”

In his report, Maltby commented the total expenditure towards tower construction and cost of apparatus as Rupees 37000 and a sum of Rupees 5000 was already collected from the sailors towards port dues, in spite of charging half of those levied at Cochin Port.

A Superintendent and 3 lascars were posted by Crawford to maintain the Lighthouse. Till 1930, all the Superintendents of Lighthouse served at Alleppey were English, taken on deputation from British India Service. When Indians were engaged for this post, the designation was changed as Head Lightkeeper.

Ammunition dump

The square laterite stone structure with semi spherical dome top, standing on the north-west corner of the lighthouse premises, and being used as Lighthouse office since 1986, was constructed in 1818 for storing

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gun powder. In 1818, 4 cannons were installed in the port premises to safe guard it from enemy attacks and it was crucial to store sufficient quantity of gun powder at an

thhand’s distance to meet exigencies. On 16 Dhanu 993 of Malayalam era (January 1818), Travancore Regent

Ammunition Dump

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Maharani ordered the construction of a structure to store 500 Thulam (4500Kg) of gun powder and an amount of 3500 Panam (Rupees 500) was sanctioned towards expenditure. This structure, later converted as an ammunition dump of Alleppey port, had a fortified door on the eastern side and two small ventilation holes on the south and north sides. Structural modifications were done in this structure in 1986 by removing the racks on the walls, filling the underground storage areas and adding some windows.

Rifle rack

The Regent’s order of year 1818 included another work of converting the thatched roof of a ‘shed used for keeping the rifles of British guards’ to tiled roof. Since the shed was referred as ‘by side of the proposed site for gun powder store’, it can be presumed that ‘the rifle shed’ of 1818 was the present Inspecting officer’s quarters of Alleppey Lighthouse. This building in the original form had only two rooms in the middle with verandas on all four sides. This building was later modified as Head Light Keeper’s quarters by covering the side verandas to add a kitchen and toilet and when a RCC roofed Head Light keeper’s quarters was constructed in 1962, it was converted as Inspecting officer’s quarters.

Port Officer’s bungalow

The Port officer’s bungalow at Alleppey was placed in such a way that the flash from the lighthouse and its character can be observed from the first floor bedroom of his bungalow and this knowledge constrained the Lightkeepers to give maximum attention in their night duties.

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Maintenance of Lighthouse

The Rulers of Travancore state were very particular in maintaining Alleppey Lighthouse to international standards and in 1909, they even requested Government of Madras to spare the services of their Officer in charge of Lighthouses, to inspect Alleppey Lighthouse and submit opinions ‘as to whether the light requires any and what improvements on modern lines.’ The Inspector of Madras state Lighthouses, on his way to Tangasseri Lighthouse, inspected Alleppey Lighthouse in the very year and recorded full satisfaction on the performance of Alleppey Lighthouse.

Passing of Indian Lighthouse act

Indian Lighthouse act was passed in 1927 to form an agency for co-ordination of the erection and maintenance of Lighthouses in Indian coast. It was also decided to levy Light dues from the ships calling at Indian ports to accumulate funds for the erection and maintenance of Lighthouses and as such a Chief Inspector of Lighthouses was appointed to head this establishment. In 1927, Lighthouses under the British Indian states only were taken over by this establishment, and as such, Alleppey Lighthouse was allowed to continue under the Travancore State Government.

Recommendation for Improvement

When the state was informed about the passing of Indian Lighthouse act and appointing of the Chief Inspector of Lighthouses, the Dewan of Travancore vide

thhis letter dated 17 February 1927 informed the Governor-General, the promptness of the state in approving the

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general scheme of administration of Lighthouses and requested the services of the Chief Inspector of Lighthouses to evaluate the performance of Alleppey Lighthouse, and in reply, the Dewan was informed that, “Government of India would be pleased to place his services at the disposal of the Durbar in case they desire advice as regards the administration of their lighthouses. It may be observed that it is very essential for the safety of shipping that lights near each other should have distinctive characters so that the mariner may know where he is when a light is sighted and that the risk of lights in the adjacent waters being of similar character would be avoided if the Travancore Government would be good enough to consult the Government of India before deciding upon the erection of a new light or a change in the character of an existing light.”

When called for the opinion of Principal Port Officer at Alleppey, his outlook was, “in the event of his visiting this coast, the opportunity be taken to obtain his opinion with regard to a new Lighthouse apparatus being installed in the Alleppey Lighthouse in place of the present apparatus which is obsolete and expensive to maintain. Though still efficient, it is worn and irregular in its movements.”

The reasons listed out for replacement of apparatus by him were;

1. The apparatus is 67 years old.

2. The expenditure towards cost of coconut oil, for illuminant, is Rupees 1360- per annum, whereas the

new apparatus installed recently at Tangasseri

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Lighthouse is working on mineral oil and its annual expenditure towards oil is Rupees 420- only.

3. If a modern apparatus were installed at Alleppey Lighthouse, an yearly saving of Rupees 940- could be effected, which capitalized at 5% would amount to Rupees 18800-, so the additional cost of new apparatus would perhaps not greatly exceed this.

4. The Inspector of light might recommend an apparatus which could be worked by a reduced establishment.

The Chief Inspector of Lighthouse had completed his inspection of south Indian Lighthouses prior to the requisition from the Travancore State Government, and his service could be arranged at the station by first March of 1931 only.

Inspection of Mr. John Oswald

Mr. John Oswald, then Chief inspector of lighthouses after his inspection, graded the Light as “more satisfactory than the many fixed lights found round the coasts of India”; the only defect he could point out was the optic rotating slower than the advertised character of the light. This was later rectified by adding some more counter weight in the clock work mechanism.

Oswald’s remark on providing new equipment was, “If a new optical apparatus is to be installed, I would recommend a fourth order flashing light as the minimum size which would be satisfactory for such a position. Such a light could be designed to have power of 50,000 British candles, which would give an optical range of about 28 miles in average clear weather.”

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Proposal kept in abeyance

After the inspection of the Chief inspector of lights, Commander W.J. Swan, the Principal Port Officer, who commented the Light apparatus as obsolete, disavowed his earlier animadversion and came with all

stbouquets for the existing apparatus. In his letter dated 1 July 1931 to The Chief Secretary to Travancore state Government, opinioned that; “There is no reason why Government should go to the expense of having a more modern light installed at a high coast, with a range of 28 miles, when the present light has met the requirements of the Port for the past 70 years and should do for some considerable time.” And based on the reports of the Masters of the visiting vessels, he ascertained that; “the light is visible from seawards at a range of about 24 miles instead of 16 miles as stated as stated in the list of lights on Indian coast.”

On the expenditure side, to reduce the amount spent on cost of coconut oil, he suggested mixing mineral oil in coconut oil to a certain percentage without

Telescope procured from China in 1849

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compromising on brilliancy of light. His letter concluded with a report that; “From a recent issue of the ‘Madras mail’, it is observed that the Port of Cochin is shortly to have a new L igh thouse with a light of 3 2 0 , 0 0 0 candle power, a light of this power should h a v e a considerable r a n g e o f visibility and Cochin being only 30 miles n o r t h o f Alleppey, the light should cut well into the range of Alleppey light and so lessen the need for a longer range light at this port.”

Based on the report of the Port officer, proposal for new lighting apparatus was shelved by the Travancore Government and unfortunately, the proposal for a new lighthouse at Cochin also was kept in abeyance.

Since the spare parts for the burners supplied by M/s J. Milano and sons in 1861 were exhausted by then, in 1933, 18 spare burners were procured from M/s Milne’s Meters Ltd., Edinburg and in 1937, 24 dozen

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A lighthouse in Alleppey Backwaters

chimneys from M/s Morgan Crossley & Co., Ltd., Manchester.

Amendment of Merchant shipping act

Dominion legislature of India has passed the ‘Merchant shipping laws (Extension to acceding states and amendment) act 1949. The following acts were coming under the Merchant shipping act.

1. The Indian registration of ships act, 1841

2. The Indian registration of ships act, (1841) Amendment act 1850.

3. The Indian bills of lading act, 1856

4. Indian merchant shipping act, 1923.

5. The carriage of goods by sea act, 1925.

6. The Indian Lighthouse act 1927.

Under the Travancore and Cochin State Government, there were 8 minor ports namely Colachal, Trivandrum, Kovalam, Quilon, Kovilthottam, Alleppey, Manakudy and Munambam and there were only two lighthouses under their administration namely the major lighthouse at Alleppey and another minor Lighthouse at Colachal.

Even though the Government of India could extend the Merchant shipping act to Acceding states without the consent of the concerned State Governments, opinion was called from the State Governments before notifying the act. Travancore state Government called legal opinion in this regard from the Advocate General and technical opinion from the Principal Port Officer of

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Alleppey Port. The view of Alleppey Port officer in this regard was,

“At Alleppey or at any other Port of the United states of Travancore and Cochin, light dues are not being realised and there is no other source of income or revenue from lighthouses. The question of loss of any revenue to the State on account of the extension of the provisions of the Indian Lighthouse Act referred to, does not therefore arise.

On the other hand I may point out, that a change or transfer in the administration of our Lighthouse would enable a substantial reduction to be made in the expenditure under “Ports” now incurred by the State. The average annual lighting charges amount to Rs. 4000- approximately and this recurring lighting charges on account of coastal lights and Lighthouses would be borne by the Government that take over the administration when the provisions of the Indian Lighthouse Act are extended. As explained above, the cost on the account of the establishment could also be reduced.”

On that date, the Head Lightkeeper of Alleppey was drawing a monthly salary in the scale of Rupees 45 - 75. Two Lightkeepers in a scale of Pay of Rupees 25 - 30 and 4 other Lightkeepers in Rupees 20 - 22 pay scale also were employed. Since these Lightkeepers were attending the signaling duties of Port also, Port Officer promptly pointed out that;

“If and when the Indian Lighthouse act is extended to this State, and the administration of the Lighthouse and the present staff of the Lightkeepers are consequently transferred, the services of the Lighthouse establishment may not be available for signaling

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purposes at the Alleppey Signal Station as here-to fore. In that event, a separate signal staff will have to be selected and recruited for signaling to Steamers which arrive at the Port. Although it would not occasion any additional expenditure and might possibly bring about a reduction in the expenditure by the retrenchment of staff, a little complication and inconvenience will be naturally caused at the outset, as it is reported that proper hands with sufficient training and experience in signaling, are not easily available.”

In spite of repeated reminders from Government of India, the opinion of Travancore State Government was not communicated in time, and finally, Government of India notified the ‘Merchant shipping laws (Extension to

stacceding states and amendment) act 1949’, on 21 January 1950 without the consent of the State Government.

Collection of Light dues

stFrom 1 April 1950, the Government of India started collecting Light dues from Alleppey Port through Customs officer, before taking over the Lighthouse and this constrained the State Government to avouch on the Light dues collected at Alleppey Port.

Since the delay in taking over of Alleppey lighthouse was due to the administrative inconveniences of the Government of India, obliging to the request from the Union Government, the State Government looked after the Lighthouse on agency basis during the financial year 1950-51, with all expenditure born by the Government of India. On1st April 1951, the Lighthouse along with 4 light keeping staff were taken over by the Chief Inspector of Lighthouses, leaving the other staff as Signalers with

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the Port.

Modernisation of Lighthouse

Once taken over by the Chief Inspector of Lighthouses, it was decided to modernise the Lighting apparatus. During the conversion period, an Acetylene gas flasher of Aga make was installed inside the existing lantern room, after removing the old Holophotal Light apparatus. Due to some technical difficulties, the procurement of new lighting apparatus was delayed and the Gas flasher remained in service till 1960.

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New equipment from BBT

The new Light ing apparatus was from M/s Barber Bernard & Turnnet of France and it was the first electrical light in the Kerala coast. The 4th order revolving cata-dioptric prisms had 1000W/230V incandescent electric lamp as main source and 500W/230V incandescent electric lamp as standby source, with auto lamp change over system. An Aladdin lamp also was supplied as an emergency source, in case of complete power failure. To rotate the optic, a clockwork mechanism with electrical auto rewinding system was provided and a new 2m Ø lantern room also was supplied with the new apparatus.

To fix the new lantern room, the old one was cut and removed. Since the new BBT lantern room was with cast iron murette plates, the granite stone murette was demolished to 60cm level and in place of teak wood f loor ing , a r e in forced concrete floor was casted. T h e n e w l i g h t w a s

thcommissioned on 4 August 1960.

E lec t ron i c pu l se motors with direct drive

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thsystem replaced the clockwork mechanism on 8 April 1998 and the incandescent lamp was replaced by cluster of 3x

th150W Metal Halide lamps on 28 February1999.

Change of colour

During the modernisation of apparatus in 1960, the whitewashed tower was given a new look with a coat of enamel paint; but it lost its white colour to the adjacent lighthouse at Manakodam in March 2000, when the Central advisory committee for Lighthouses ordered the interchange the colour codes between Manakodam and Alleppey towers, obliging to the complaints of mariners, of difficulty in identifying the adjacent towers of Manakodam and Vypin, both with red and white bands. Three red bands were given to the Alleppey white tower in March 1998.

A land mark

Lighthouse towers are land marks. To identify them from a distance in the sea, they are built in different shapes and when identical towers are built in the same area, different colours and colour bands are given to them for easy identification. After standing tall for a long time in a port, it will become a part of that port/city and people start identifying the city by the sight of the lighthouse. Alleppey Lighthouse in one such tower that could find a place in the hearts of the people, and reminding them the golden days of the commercial capital of Travancore and give them a hope that the days of prosperity will return to Alleppey port

in near future.

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bout the author

Sri. I C R Prasad joined the Directorate of Lighthouses and Lightships, Cochin as

rdAssistant Lightkeeper on 3 March 1980 and after serving in different lighthouses of East and West Coast India and Lakshadweep Islands, is presently working as Assistant

Engineer (Electronics) at Azhikode DGPS and Lighthouse.

A man with great passion for Lighthouses, he has a good collection of Postage stamps, Coins, Photographs, Picture cards, Books, Periodicals, Replicas etc., etc. on lighthouses. He started his research on history of lighthouses, when Kadalur Point Lighthouse of his home district celebrated its centenary in 2009 and presently writing history and heritage of selected Lighthouses.

Directorate-General of Lighthouses and Lightships supported his efforts to bring out the stories of the unsung heroes of the past who have designed and constructed lighthouses in difficult terrains and maintained them uninterrupted, to safeguard the mariners, by publishing his two books on Kadalur point, Mahabalipuram & False Point Lighthouses and this is the forth book in the 'Historic Lighthouses' series.

A

Reference sources:1. Central Archives, Trivandrum.2. Regional Archives, Trivandrum.3. Regional Archives, Ernakulam.4. Tamilnadu State Archives, Egmore.5. Shri. Kallelil Raghavan Pillai.6. Shri. P.K. Rajan, Director of Ports, (Retd.)7. CACL reports.8. Trinity house Library, United Kingdom.9. Chief Hydrographer’s Office, United Kingdom.10. Admiralty lists of Lights.

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