Back in 1933, December 19 marked a historic day for Vizagapatnam and Waltair (Visakhapatnam as known before). This was the day when the harbour was inaugurated 88 years ago. News reports were telegraphed to London, New York, Paris, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong and Cape Town to herald the completion of the most significant engineering feat that happened in the city pre-Independence.
History chronicler Jayshree Hatangadi will go down memory lane to narrate the events of this momentous day and turn the chapters of history on December 19 at Ross Hill Church parking area.
“On that day, Waltair Station platform was decorated and abuzz with expectation. The then Viceroy Lord Willingdon, had arrived to open the new harbour and the administration was basking in its achievement of accomplishing a project that had been debated and deliberated on for 100 years,” explains Jayshree. She will be addressing a small group on the day to bring out some fascinating nuggets of history. To enliven the evening, St Aloysius band will be playing drums.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, the British government had decided to build a port on the East coast of India for exporting resources from Central India. It was after the First World War (1914-18) that the proposal of Colonel H Cartwright Reid of British Admiralty for construction of a harbour at Visakhapatnam at the mouth of river Meghadrigedda was approved by the Government. Visakhapatnam was chosen for its strategic location and geographical advantages.
Unique features
The unique feature of the harbour was the island break-water, constructed by scuttling two old ships Janus and Wellesdon, which form the skeleton around which a rubble mound is formed. The Bengal Nagpur Railway was given the order to construct the port. The first commercial vessel to enter the newly opened harbour of Vizagapatam was SS Jaladurga on 7 October 1933. In the first year of operation, it handled a traffic of 1.3 lakh tonnes.
The London Times weekly edition carried a special India supplement and across the centre-fold was an artist’s impression of the landscape that Visakhapatnam was to become.
Jayshree will be presenting some rare photographs and maps marking the historic day taken from the digital archives. “There is one rare aerial picture taken in 1928, which shows the harbour construction under progress,” she adds.
Jayshree has been playing an active role in reviving the dialogue around heritage conservation in Visakhapatnam through her heritage walks. At the end of the day’s talk on Sunday, the participants will get a postcard by Jayshree with a small narration on the heritage of Visakhapatnam.
The meet starts at Ross Hill Church on December 19 at 4pm .
