Great Basses Lighthouse
The Southern province is nearly at its end, and there are two offshore lighthouses known as the Great and Little Basses Lighthouses located closest to Kirinda in the Hambantota District. Rear-Admiral Sir W. H. Hall, K.C.B., surveyed the Great and Little Basses sites in 1853 and recommended the erection of a lighthouse on Great Basses and the mooring of a light vessel near the Little Basses. These rocky outcrops lie on two lengths of submerged reef along the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka. The Great Basses is about 10 miles from the coast of Kirinda, and the Little Basses is approximately 6 miles from Pottana in the Natural Reserve inside the Yala Wildlife Sanctuary.
In 1867, Mr. J. N. Douglas (later Sir James), the Engineer-in-Chief of the Elder Brethren of Trinity House, was appointed to draw up a plan to build the Great Basses lighthouse while a light-vessel was to be moored off the rock. The construction of the lighthouse was carried out by William Douglas, the architect's broth...
In 1867, Mr. J. N. Douglas (later Sir James), the Engineer-in-Chief of the Elder Brethren of Trinity House, was appointed to draw up a plan to build the Great Basses lighthouse while a light-vessel was to be moored off the rock. The construction of the lighthouse was carried out by William Douglas, the architect's broth...
