CANNON RESEARCH PROJECTS

Warning System

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Where we would today use a telephone or radio to communicate between two or more parties, a signalling cannon was used for such "announcements" in the 17^th - 19^th centuries. With the exception of Dassen Island, there is documented proof of the Warning Systems listed below.

• Lions Head/Signal Hill
• Robben Island
• Dassen Island
• The Noon Gun
• Mountain Passes

Lions Head/Signal Hill

Successive Governors at the Cape developed and improved signal systems which could give early warning of any foreign ships approaching the settlement. One of the most enduring of these systems was set up on the top of Lion's Head in about 1675.

Two 3 or 4 pdr bronze breech loading guns (Camers van Basjen), a tall mast, flags, a telescope and all equipment required to load and fire the guns were hoisted up the almost vertical slopes of the mountain. The placement of the guns in that lofty lookout was a remarkable feat of rigging and gives modern man food for thought.

The post on the mountain was manned only by day, as nothing could be seen to seaward by night. The signalman would depart from the hut before daybreak and would time his trip such that he would reach the vertical, and most dangerous section of the climb at first light. The return trip would be similarly timed. There were occasions when the weather changed for the worse too rapidly for the lookout to return to base and he had to spend a miserable night or two on the mountain. A small waterproof magazine for the powder and a shelter for the lookouts were later built of local stone and mortar.

Upon sighting a ship the lookout would fire a gun to alert the Castle. The number of guns fired and the sequence of flags would advise the Castle of the number and origin of approaching ships. When the ship approached sufficiently for the country of origin to be identified, the signalman would raise the flag of that country to advise the Castle of the nationality of the appraoching ship.

This signal system had purely a military purpose in that it gave the Governor some warning of who was approaching his domain. The inhabitants of the town and nearby farms could also hear the gun and see the flag, they considered the sound of the gun fair warning to prepare any merchandise they may wish to sell to the ships which would soon anchor in the bay.

The relatively small guns on Lion's Head could hardly be heard from the Castle under ideal conditions and not at all when a south easterly wind was blowing. A second post against the slopes of Lion's Head could relay the signals from Lion's Head to the Castle and could still give warning when the higher post was shrouded in mist.

By 1741 the second signal post, also consisting of two Dutch 3 pdr bronze guns, was erected somewhere on the Lion's Rump, or on the ridge between Lion's Head and Signal Hill as it is known today. The precise position of these relay guns varies from report to report, but sketches and paintings from the early 18th century clearly show flags and gunsmoke on Lion's Head and on Signal Hill. Later, the bronze guns were replaced, as a detailed survey of all guns carried out in 1809 lists two Dutch 4 pdr iron guns "between Lion's Head and Lion's Rump". The secondary signal position eventually became a permanent stone and mortar structure on top of "Vlaeberg" or Signal Hill. Many 18th century paintings of ships in Table Bay clearly show flags flying from both Lion's Head and Signal Hill.

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Robben Island

The Dutch Authorities placed a small 4 pounder gun on Robben Island during the mid-18th century in an attempt to expand their warning system. This gun proved to be too light as it could not be heard unless the weather conditions were favourable. Some time later, it was replaced with an 8 pounder (489) which provided better, but not ideal, results.

Dassen Island

A small (4 pounder) gun was placed near the pier on the landward side of the island. The gun would have been ineffective in a defensive role against a ship, but could have been used to discourage smaller boats from approaching the pier.

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The Noon Gun

Soon after the English occupation of the Cape in 1795, the Dutch guns were removed from Imoff Battery at the Castle and replaced by the latest English 18 pounders designed by Captain Thomas Blomefield. A time signal has been fired by one of these guns since 1806.

The daily gun was fired as a time signal for ships anchored in the bay, but every Capetonian came to rely on the gun for the accurate time.

As Cape Town developed and grew, the noise of the gun became too loud and violent for the city centre and the guns were moved up to Lion Battery. The first signal fired from Lion Battery was on the 4th of August 1902. These same guns are still in use today and is Cape Town's oldest living tradition; the 2 guns used are the oldest guns in daily use in the world.

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Mountain Passes

This Warning System was never an official signalling system but is worthy of a mention.

The only known warning signal was that of the Gantau Pass (near Sir Lowrey's Pass) where the road was too narrow for two ox wagons to pass. Some system could have been devised where the station at the top or bottom of the pass would signal that a wagon train had entered the pass and therefore not allow another to enter the pass in the opposite direction.

There are still 2 guns (396 & 397) standing at the top of the old pass, both of which appear to be suitable signal cannon. One is known to be part of the Call-up System, but the purpose of the other one is not known. A small gun was bought many years ago from someone in the town of Sir Lowrey and the present owner was informed that this gun was used to warn wagon trains entering the pass.

A number of passes had similar situations but no recorded data of such a signal system has been found to date.

The cannon used for this purpose was usually a small commercial gun. The calibre of these were possibly a  ¹/₄  or  ¹/₂ pounder which made sufficient noise to alert the other party. 

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