Descendant of British Lighthouse Engineer Visits Penghu, Reviving the Legacy of David Marr Henderson Who “Illuminated Penghu’s Maritime Route”
Press Section
2025-10-31
114
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The Penghu County Government hosted the “International Conference on the Sustainable Development of Marine Culture at the Penghu World Heritage Potential Site,” inviting Felicity Somers Eve, great-granddaughter of renowned British engineer David Marr Henderson (DMH), to Penghu. She personally brought invaluable reproduction drawings of the design manuscripts for the Xiyu Lighthouse (Yuwengdao Lighthouse) and presented them to the Penghu County Government, received on behalf of the county by Magistrate Chen Kuang-Fu.
Magistrate Chen Kuang-Fu, accompanied by Zhang Yu-Chuang, Chief Secretary of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture; Chen Yu-Yun, Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Penghu County Government; National Penghu University of Science and Technology Professor Yu Hsi-Liang and Assistant Professor Lin Yu-Chen; Lighthouse Heritage Research Connections founder Professor Ching Hsiang-Hu; Association advisor Professor Hsieh Ying-Hsing; and City University of Hong Kong Professor He Zhou, accepted this century-spanning historical treasure. He stated that the gift is not only a precious set of drawings but also an important testament to the renewed intersection of maritime civilizations between Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Chen Kuang-Fu expressed his gratitude to Felicity Somers Eve for traveling such a long distance to bring historically significant design documents, and he paid tribute to her great-grandfather Henderson for his remarkable contributions to the safety of navigation in the Taiwan Strait. With professionalism and foresight, Henderson laid the foundation for maritime safety across East Asia and illuminated the seafaring path of generations of Penghu residents.
He also thanked Professor Ching Hsiang-Hu for his long-standing dedication to lighthouse literature collection and field research. From traveling the world to promoting navigation aid culture, Professor Ching has been not only a practitioner of lighthouse heritage but also a vital bridge that made this meaningful exchange possible.
Chen Kuang-Fu emphasized that the Xiyu Lighthouse is not only a key landmark for maritime safety but also a witness to the historical significance of Penghu as a crossroads of maritime civilizations. Finally, he expressed appreciation to Assistant Professor Lin Yu-Chen of the Department of Tourism and Leisure at the National Penghu University of Science and Technology and her team for facilitating the successful hosting of this conference, bringing together domestic and international scholars to jointly explore the sustainable development of marine culture. Their efforts enable more people to recognize Penghu’s pivotal role in global maritime history and its stone weir culture.
The Xiyu Lighthouse (Yuwengdao Lighthouse), located on the cape of Wai’an Village in Xiyu Township, Penghu County, is the first lighthouse built in Taiwan and the Penghu archipelago, laying the foundation for the modern lighthouse system. The earliest structure was built in 1778 (Qing Dynasty, Qianlong era), a seven-tier octagonal stone tower jointly funded by government and civilians, known as the “Xiyu Pagoda Lighthouse.” It served as a crucial navigational aid for mariners of the time. With the development of maritime routes and increasing safety needs, the lighthouse was rebuilt between 1874 (Tongzhi era) and 1875 (Guangxu era) into what is now the Xiyu Lighthouse (Yuwengdao Lighthouse), equipped with the latest fourth-class rotating lens and fog cannon technology of that period.
The birth of this new lighthouse is inseparable from the contributions of British engineer David Marr Henderson (DMH). Beginning in 1872, he visited Xiyu in Penghu multiple times to conduct on-site surveys of the original Xiyu Pagoda Lighthouse and its ancillary structures, carrying out detailed measurements of the tower, lantern room, and lighting apparatus. He identified design flaws and proposed improvement solutions. He submitted his investigative reports to Robert Hart, then Inspector General of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service, which became a key basis for the transformation of the modern lighthouse system and ushered in a new era of maritime safety.
