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Searchlight Emplacements
Inside the satellite earth station there is a steep flight of steps from an old generator house down a very rugged and precipitous ravine to a concrete footpath which girdles the south-eastern coast of the peninsula. Remains of old concrete posts at regular intervals suggest a security fence existed at one time alongside the footpath. About halfway along the footpath, situated on a ledge of the cliff, stands a small concrete structure with a semi-circular bow-shaped front and a large open embrasure facing in an easterly direction. This shelter housed one of the coast artillery searchlights for the battery. The searchlight was protected by steel shutters when not in use. The rear part of the shelter housed either a small generator or a series of accumulator batteries to provide the electricity supply to power the searchlight. A second searchlight emplacement can be found further along the footpath facing in a south-easterly direction.
Situated higher up the cliff above the second searchlight emplacement is the searchlight command post. This consists of a two-tiered structure connected by an internal flight of steps. The same standard design as the searchlight emplacement has been used for each tier, the only modification being to increase the height of the parapet wall, which reduces the size of the embrasure opening but still allows observation. This is where the searchlight directing officer and battery observers would have been stationed. Adjacent to the searchlight command post is a small concrete shelter probably used as an off-duty rest room by the searchlight operators and observers working shifts or watches.
Defence electric lights or projectors could be used in either a searchlight role, sweeping across the sea in front of the emplacement picking out and following hostile targets for the gunners to engage, or as a fixed illumination covering constantly a body of water through which enemy ships might pass. The beams could be adjusted to narrow for long range or wide for shorter range, but with a greater area of coverage. Sometimes a system of 'sentry' and 'sweeper' beams would be used. Two lights situated some distance apart would remain in the same position as sentry beams. The light operators would watch for enemy ships passing through their beams, and when something was seen, a third searchlight, the 'sweeper,' would pick up the ship and illuminate it for the guns. Sweepers would also light up at irregular times, make