Maclear's Beacon, Triangulation beacon on Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

Maclear's Beacon is a triangular pile of packed rock, 5 metres high, painted lamp black, at the eastern end of Table Mountain's plateau. It stands at 1,086 metres above sea level, 19 metres above the upper cable car station, about 3 km from the station.

In December 1844, Cape Astronomer Royal Thomas Maclear had his assistant William Mann build a rock cairn on Table Mountain to check and extend Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille's arc of the meridian. The pile collapsed in 1929 and was restored in 1979 for the centenary of Maclear's death on 14 June 1879.

Near the beacon stands a bronze plaque from 1922, unveiled the following year, honouring nine members of the Mountain Club of South Africa killed in the First World War. A memorial service is held there every February; Jan Smuts, who gave the unveiling speech, climbed Skeleton Gorge at 80 to speak again.

The beacon lies about 3 km east of the upper cable car station, reached after roughly 45 minutes of walking across the plateau. Paths pass close to the beacon, and the flat bronze First World War memorial plaque of 1922 is mounted on a rock nearby. Weather on the summit changes fast, so carry windproof layers.

Near the beacon stands a bronze plaque from 1922, unveiled the following year, honouring nine members of the Mountain Club of South Africa killed in the First World War. A memorial service is held there each February; Jan Smuts, who gave the unveiling speech, climbed Skeleton Gorge at 80 to speak again.