Sir
Robert Bristow (born December 13, 1880 in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
- died September 3, 1966) was a
BritishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
harbour engineer who is best known for his contributions to the development of the port of
KochiKochi , formerly known as Cochin, is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city is one of the principal seaports of the country and is located in the district of Ernakulam, about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. Bristow recounted his experiences in his book
Cochin Saga, which is considered an important source of historiography of
KeralaKerala , is a state located in southwestern India. The state was created in 1956 on linguistc basis, bringing together those places where Malayalam formed the principal language...
. He is also noted for his initiatives in founding the
Lotus Club, the first inter-racial club in Kochi.
Sir
Robert Bristow (born December 13, 1880 in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
- died September 3, 1966) was a
BritishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
harbour engineer who is best known for his contributions to the development of the port of
KochiKochi , formerly known as Cochin, is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city is one of the principal seaports of the country and is located in the district of Ernakulam, about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. Bristow recounted his experiences in his book
Cochin Saga, which is considered an important source of historiography of
KeralaKerala , is a state located in southwestern India. The state was created in 1956 on linguistc basis, bringing together those places where Malayalam formed the principal language...
. He is also noted for his initiatives in founding the
Lotus Club, the first inter-racial club in Kochi. He was also a member of the
Royal Society of ArtsThe Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity . It was founded in 1754 and was granted a Royal Charter in 1847...
.
Early life and career
Born December 13, 1880 to Alfred Bristow and Laura Web, Bristow studied at the Technical Institute in London and joined the Civil Engineering Service in 1903. He worked in various harbours for the next sixteen years, including ports such as
MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
and
PortsmouthPortsmouth is a city located in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city and is located on Portsea Island. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club are both nicknamed Pompey...
. He was also involved in the maintenance of the
Suez canalThe Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened on November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa...
. He joined the services of the
Madras governmentMadras Presidency , also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St. George, was a province of British India...
at the age of 39, and came to Kochi on April 13, 1920 under the direction of
Lord WillingdonMajor Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon was a British Liberal politician, cricketer, scouting pioneer and administrator who, between 1926 and 1931 served as the Governor General of Canada, and between 1931 and 1936 served as the 32nd Viceroy and Governor-General of India, in both...
, then the Governor of Madras.
During this time, trade at the port of Kochi had increased substantially, and the need to develop it was greatly felt. The port, which was under
British ruleThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
since 1795, had seen little development, despite its illustrious maritime history. According to Sreedhara Menon,
It took some time for the British authorities to realise the commercial and strategic potential of Kochi as a port and take the necessary steps for its development, as if to compensate for the earlier neglect. Bristow was thus assigned with the charge of constructing an approach channel from the deep sea to the inner harbour. This would help ships to enter the safer harbour rather than be exposed to the violent sea where they currently berthed while offloading cargo. The challenge Bristow faced in his task, was the obstruction caused due to a rock-like sand bar that guarded the entrance to the port. However, he was widely optimistic, and started off with a detailed study of the harbour and submitted a report to Lord Willingdon, the Governor of Madras. For the next twenty one years, he was involved with the construction of the port and succeeded in transforming Kochi into one of the safest harbours in the peninsula, where ships berthed alongside the newly reclaimed inner harbour equipped with a long array of steam cranes. The steam ship
Padma, sailing from Bombay on May 26, 1928, was the first major ship to enter the newly constructed inner harbour of Kochi.
Around 3.2 km² of land was reclaimed during the dredging process. The
Willingdon IslandWillingdon Island is the home of the modern port that serves Kochi in Kerala, India. It is a man-made island created from the materials dredged while deepening Kochi Port, it's in Ernakulam district of Kerala in south India. It's named after Lord Willingdon, the erstwhile governor of Madras who had...
, as it was known (after the Madras Governor), soon grew to become a prominent part of the city. It today houses the
Cochin PortCochin Port Trust is a body of the Government of India that manages the port of Kochi. Operating from the Willingdon Island, the trust is located at latitude 9 degree 58' north and longitude 76 degree 14' east....
and the
headquarters of the Southern Naval CommandThe Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. It currently has approximately 55,000 personnel on active duty, including 5,000 members of the naval aviation branch and 2,000 marine commandos, making it the world's fifth largest navy...
.
Speaking to the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
on August 11, 1935, Bristow proudly proclaimed his achievements at the Kochi port with the following words:
I live on a large Island made from the bottom of the sea. It is called Willingdon Island, after the present Viceroy of India. From the upper floor of my house, I look down on the finest harbour in the East.
Bristow returned to England on April 13, 1941. He served at the Manchester University for some time. He died in September 1966 at the age of 85.
The Lotus Club
Bristow is also noted for co-founding with his wife the
Lotus Club in 1931. Baring the prevailing social stigma, the Bristows opened the club to people of all races and genders, doing full justice to its objective of being "a club where men, women and children of all communities would have the opportunity of meeting together and cultivating mutual acquaintance and promoting good fellowship." Thus, the club became the first non white-exclusive club in the state.
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