Apo Reef Light
Encyclopedia
The Apo Reef Light was a historic lighthouse
built on Bajo Apo Island in Apo Reef Natural Park
. The park is located in the middle of Mindoro Strait
, west of the province
of Occidental Mindoro
, in the Philippines
. The station was established to warn ships of the dangerous shallow reefs in that part of the strait
.
The original tower was the tallest lighthouse tower ever erected in the Philippines
. The 118-ft (36.0-m) tall structure was an iron
skeletal tower
with a central cylinder
, reinforced by a hexagonal frame and topped with the lantern room with two levels of gallery.
for the Philippine Archipelago
during the Spanish Colonial Period. It was proposed to erect a steel tower with a third-order light on Bajo Apo Island. In 1896, the tower and the lighting apparatus were already purchased complete by the Spanish authorities from France, and they were delivered and stored at the warehouse
in Manila. All lighthouse constructions though, were halted with the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution
and then the Spanish-American War
.
. In 1903, the Bureau of Lighthouse Construction proposed to continue the construction of the third-order light on Bajo Apo Island. The tower was found in excellent condition at the warehouse by the Americans together with the tower for Capitancillo Islet in Cebu. A survey party was sent to the station in November 1903 for the topographical surveying of the Island as no work has ever been attempted yet by the Spaniards on this station - unlike in Tanguingui Island or Capitancillo Island where some construction has already been started.
Several plans were considered and compared with the original Spanish plans. It was finally decided that for all structures, except for the tower, a different construction would be used, instead of the heavy masonry
buildings in the Spanish design, modern reinforced concrete
structures would be erected. This construction would be lighter, require less material, and therefore be more economical and still be fully as strong and permanent as the heavier construction.
The tower and lighting apparatus found stored in Manila were examined and found to be in excellent condition, with only a few parts missing. Complete plans were made, a budget of ₱65,000 was set for the project and by June 1904, a party of 1 American and 45 Filipinos was organized.
Temporary quarters were constructed for the workers and a road had to be made from the dwelling site to the tower before the party could begin work on the station proper and the tower. On August 5, another American was added to the party and Filipino workers were added from time to time as the work demanded.
The work progressed continuously with the exception of a few delays caused by lack of fresh water. As none is found on the island or in the immediate vicinity, water for drinking purposes had to be supplied from Manila
, Romblon
province or the adjacent coast of Mindoro. About the first of August, the sloop
Jervey was sent to the station for this purpose, but on account of the dangerous anchorage, it was later transferred to Maniguin Island
where lighthouse construction was simultaneously going on.
. The third-order light was finally lit around April, 1906.
. All lighthouses in the Philippines are managed by that government agency.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
built on Bajo Apo Island in Apo Reef Natural Park
Apo Reef
Apo Reef is a series of coral reefs encompassing 34 square kilometers within the waters of Occidental Mindoro in the Philippines. It is the world's second-largest contiguous coral reef system and the largest in the country...
. The park is located in the middle of Mindoro Strait
Mindoro Strait
Mindoro Strait is a strait in the Philippines, separating Mindoro Island from Busuanga Island of Palawan. Located within its waters is the Apo Reef, the largest coral reef system in the Philippines....
, west of the province
Provinces of the Philippines
The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...
of Occidental Mindoro
Occidental Mindoro
Occidental Mindoro is a province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon. "Home of the Indigenous Mangyans". Its capital is Mamburao and occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro, on the west by Apo East Pass, and on the south by the Mindoro Strait; Oriental Mindoro is...
, in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The station was established to warn ships of the dangerous shallow reefs in that part of the strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
.
The original tower was the tallest lighthouse tower ever erected in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The 118-ft (36.0-m) tall structure was an iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
skeletal tower
Skeletal tower
Skeletal Frame Light Towers are lighthouse towers that have only an open frame. They are commonly built as aids to navigation; most of them are not considered to be lighthouses. However, during the late nineteenth century and the first years of the twentieth, larger skeletal towers were installed...
with a central cylinder
Cylinder (geometry)
A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given line segment, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...
, reinforced by a hexagonal frame and topped with the lantern room with two levels of gallery.
Spanish Colonial Period
The light station on Apo Reef was part of the first approved group of lighthouses in the Maritime Lighting Plan of SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
for the Philippine Archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
during the Spanish Colonial Period. It was proposed to erect a steel tower with a third-order light on Bajo Apo Island. In 1896, the tower and the lighting apparatus were already purchased complete by the Spanish authorities from France, and they were delivered and stored at the warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
in Manila. All lighthouse constructions though, were halted with the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution
Philippine Revolution
The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...
and then the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
Lighthouse plan
When the Americans took control of the Philippines, all the Spanish plans and records were turned over to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1903, the Bureau of Lighthouse Construction proposed to continue the construction of the third-order light on Bajo Apo Island. The tower was found in excellent condition at the warehouse by the Americans together with the tower for Capitancillo Islet in Cebu. A survey party was sent to the station in November 1903 for the topographical surveying of the Island as no work has ever been attempted yet by the Spaniards on this station - unlike in Tanguingui Island or Capitancillo Island where some construction has already been started.
Several plans were considered and compared with the original Spanish plans. It was finally decided that for all structures, except for the tower, a different construction would be used, instead of the heavy masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
buildings in the Spanish design, modern reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
structures would be erected. This construction would be lighter, require less material, and therefore be more economical and still be fully as strong and permanent as the heavier construction.
The tower and lighting apparatus found stored in Manila were examined and found to be in excellent condition, with only a few parts missing. Complete plans were made, a budget of ₱65,000 was set for the project and by June 1904, a party of 1 American and 45 Filipinos was organized.
First light
The party was sent to the island on July 6, 1904 and a temporary light was immediately established. A lens lantern with a fixed white light was put up to light the station.Temporary quarters were constructed for the workers and a road had to be made from the dwelling site to the tower before the party could begin work on the station proper and the tower. On August 5, another American was added to the party and Filipino workers were added from time to time as the work demanded.
The work progressed continuously with the exception of a few delays caused by lack of fresh water. As none is found on the island or in the immediate vicinity, water for drinking purposes had to be supplied from Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Romblon
Romblon
Romblon is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region. It lies south of Marinduque and Quezon, east of Mindoro, north of Aklan and Capiz, and west of Masbate. Its capital is also named Romblon....
province or the adjacent coast of Mindoro. About the first of August, the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
Jervey was sent to the station for this purpose, but on account of the dangerous anchorage, it was later transferred to Maniguin Island
Maniguin Island Lighthouse
The Maniguin Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse that marks the Cuyo East Passage, a main shipping route south into the Sulu Sea. The island, also known as Maningning Island or Hammerhead Island, is located 26.5 miles off of the coast of Culasi, Antique in the Philippines...
where lighthouse construction was simultaneously going on.
Completion
The assistant overseer and the larger part of the party returned to Manila June 22, 1905. At the end of the year, they had practically completed the tower and buildings, except for the execution of some unimportant details and the lighting apparatus, which could not be installed for some months, as it was necessary to make several missing parts. Work on the missing parts was done in the new repair shop of the Bureau located on Engineer Island in the Port of ManilaPort of Manila
The Port of Manila is the largest seaport in the Philippines, and is the premier international shipping gateway to the country. It is located in the vicinity of Manila Bay.-Port Area:...
. The third-order light was finally lit around April, 1906.
Current Tower
A modern 110-foot tall white tower with solar-powered lights now stands at the location of the old tower. It was erected by a Japanese company as part of the Maritime Safety Improvement Project-2 by the Philippine Coast GuardPhilippine Coast Guard
The Philippine Coast Guard is a maritime law enforcement agency operating under the Department of Transportation and Communications of the Philippines....
. All lighthouses in the Philippines are managed by that government agency.
External links
- Light Stations of Southern Tagalog at the Philippine Coast Guard Website.