Apollo Bunder Once Bombay’s Harbour – 3 Postcards 1900
Three 1900s postcards of Apollo Bunder once Bombay’s harbour, now where the Gateway of India stands. Horsecarts patiently wait as seen in one of the postcards. Sailing boats and ships are visible in the foreground. The Apollo Bunder or Wellington Pier was once a disembarkation jetty for ship passengers.
They were ferried here from ships anchored in deeper waters. Now it is where the Gateway of India stands. A Japanese-style pavilion is conspicuously visible in the postcards. It was said to be the area where customs checking was done. Once the Bombay Docks started facilitating passenger ships in the 1930s or 40s. The use of the Apollo Bunder as a harbour was discontinued. On the right is the Royal Bombay Boat Club and on the left is the Taj Mahal Hotel (not seen here).
The Apollo Bunder would become the future site of the Gateway of India. However, the site had to be expanded by reclamation from the sea. The reclamation work began in 1914, it was done on the left flank of the Wellington pier (Taj Hotel side). To increase the area for open space for the public once the Gateway of India came up. It also transformed the irregularly shaped land into an oval shape. Thus it would visually appear that the jutting rectangular land had shifted to the left. It is where the Gateway of India now stands. The Taj Mahal Hotel was not built until 1903.
Did you know – the Wellington Pier was a landing area for fishing crafts in the 19th century.
From the collection – Raja Ravi Varma Women Themed Paintings, 5 PCs., Rajendra Maidan Ernakulam Kochi, Old Photo 1944., Dead Monarch And The New, Glimpse of British India In 1910., New Delhi Inauguration & Vintage Car – Old Print 1927.
