A public meeting at Cape Town on 11 July 1840 resolved to raise funds for the construction of the lighthouse, and Michiel van Breda, the founder of Bredasdorp, offered to donate the land on which it was to be built.

Apart from local contributions, funds were received from Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Manila, St Helena and London; by June 1843 the sum raised was £1,479.3s.9d (£1,479.19).

[3] In 1847, the government of the Cape Colony agreed to fund the construction at a cost of £15,871; building work began in April and was completed in December 1848, and the light was first lit on 1 March 1849.

[6][7] The lighthouse consists of a round tower, 27 metres (89 ft) high and painted red with a white band, that is attached to the keeper's house, which now contains a museum and restaurant.

[5] The focal plane of the light is 31 metres (102 ft) above high water; the range of the 7.5 megacandela lantern is 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi).