Apollo Bunder Before The Gateway Of India, 1874 Print

An old 1874 print of the Apollo Bunder before the Gateway of India came up in Bombay, now Mumbai. It was a pier or jetty for the landing of passengers from steamers that anchored in deeper waters. And ferried by boat to the jetty. After the mandatory customs formalities, passengers would get on to waiting conveyances of horse-cart or bullock carts.

See post Apollo Bunder Bombay Waiting For Steamer – Old Print 1880.

Interestingly, visible are some cannons near the edge (see close-up image). These were to deter any looming attacks from pirates or enemies. Consequently, threats of invasion died out by the beginning of the 19th century. Although the pier was renamed Wellington Pier its old name Apollo Bunder would still stick to the place colloquially.

Apollo Bunder was reclaimed from a marshy land in the 1830s and was said to be “a foul and hideous place”. After the adjacent Bombay Port was developed into a full-fledged port with passenger facilities the use of the landing jetty was altogether abandoned. Today the Gateway of India stands in this place in commemoration of King George V and Queen Mary’s visit to Bombay.