team concluded that poor weather, darkness and fog were the cause of the sinkings. Maritime wrecks around Robben Island and its surrounding waters include the 17th-century Dutch East Indiaman ships, the Yeanger van Horne (1611), the Shaapejacht (1660), and the Dageraad (1694). Later 19th-century wrecks include several British brigs, including the Gondolier (1836), and the United States clipper, A.H. Stevens (1866). In 1901 the mail steamer SS Tantallon Castle struck rocks off Robben Island in dense fog shortly after leaving Cape Town. After distress cannons were fired from the island, nearby vessels rushed to the rescue. All 120 passengers and crew were taken off the ship before it was broken apart in the relentless swell. A further 17 ships have been wrecked in the 20th century, including British, Spanish, Norwegian and Taiwanese vessels. Robben Island lighthouse Due to the maritime danger of Robben Island and its near waters, Jan van Riebeeck, the first Dutch colonial administrator in Cape Town in the 1650s, ordered that huge bonfires were to be lit at night on top of Fire Hill, the highest point on the island (now Minto Hill). These were to warn VOC ships that they were approaching the island. In 1865, Robben Island lighthouse was completed on Minto Hill. The cylindrical masonry tower, which has an attached lightkeeper's house at its base, is high with a lantern gallery at the top. In 1938, the lamp was converted to electricity. The lighthouse uses a flashing lantern instead of a revolving lamp; it shines for a duration of 5 seconds every seven seconds. The 46,000-candela beam, visible up to away, flashes white light away from Table Bay. A secondary red light acts as a navigation aid for vessels sailing south-southeast. Wildlife and conservation When the Dutch arrived in the area in 1652, the only large animals on the island were seals and birds, principally penguins. In 1654, the settlers released rabbits on the island to provide a ready source of meat for passing ships. The original colony of African penguins on the island was completely exterminated by 1800. But, since 1983, a new colony has been established there, and the modern island is again an important breeding area for the species. The colony grew to a size of ~16,000 individuals in 2004, before starting to decline in size again. , this decline has been continuous (to a colony size of ~3,000 individuals). Such