The first beacon was placed on the headland in 1856. It was a cylindrical tower, built up of cast-iron plates, erected near the edge of the cliff, which is 87 feet high. The tower itself being 38 feet in height, the focal plane of the beam was at an elevation of 125 feet above the sea. It was erected jointly by the British and Newfoundland Government authorities, although the maintenance thereof was entrusted to Great Britain. In return for the provision of this warning, a tax of one-sixteenth of a penny, or an eighth of a cent, per ton, was collected in England from vessels passing the light. The beacon was not particularly powerful, the ray being only of some 6,000 candle-power. Some years ago the lighthouse was handed over to the Canadian Government to be included in its service, together with the balance of the fund which had accrued from the levy of the special tax. This sum represented £20,579, or $102,895. The Canadian Government abolished the light-due, and the surplus funds were absorbed into the general revenue of the country. The new owners, realizing the importance of the light, subsequently decided to provide a new beacon of greater power to meet the demands of shipping, which had increased amazingly. In 1907 this structure was completed. It is a cylindrical tower, carried out in reinforced concrete, 100 feet in height, surmounted by a lantern of the first order with hyperradial apparatus. This is the largest type of optical apparatus in use at the present time, and the ray of light produced by an incandescent oil-burner and mantle is of 1,100,000 candle-power, shed from an elevation of 195 feet above the water. The warning flash of a quarter of a second every seven and a half seconds is visible from a distance of nineteen miles. In addition, the fog-signalling apparatus was brought up to date. The steam-whistle, which had sufficed up to the date of reconstruction, was replaced by a diaphone of the greatest power installed up to that time. This is set up about 250 feet south of the lighthouse, with which it is connected by a covered passage. The air required to emit the warning blast, lasting three and a half seconds once in every half-minute, is compressed by the aid of steam. By day the lighthouse is readily distinguishable from its red and white vertical stripes, red lantern, and white dwelling with red roof, in which the keepers have their quarters. To-day the station ranks as one of the finest in the world, complying in every respect with the requisitions for one of a first-class character.