View Of The Madras Harbour & Parry’s Corner, 1880 Photo
An 1880 photograph offering a sweeping view of Madras Harbour and the area now known as Parry’s Corner. The image was taken from the old Doric columned lighthouse situated near the Madras High Court building. It offers a rare high-elevation perspective of colonial-era Chennai.
In the 19th century, the Madras coastline was considered one of the most treacherous in India. With no natural harbour and rough surf occasionally, ships arriving from abroad were forced to anchor far out at sea. Passengers and goods were transported to the shore in traditional masula boats.
Until 1861, the coast had no protected landing point. That year, the East India Company constructed a simple T-shaped iron pier to assist in safer unloading operations. In this 1880 photograph, two prominent breakwaters can be seen jutting into the sea from the shoreline. These breakwaters partially enclosed the T-shaped pier at the centre, helping reduce the force of the waves and offering some protection from the region’s storms and cyclones.
The addition of breakwaters marked the early stages of transforming Madras’s notoriously dangerous coast into a functional harbour. Over the decades, further expansions would follow, eventually giving rise to the modern Chennai Port, today one of the busiest and most important maritime gateways in India.
In the foreground of the photograph stands a tiled building that would later become the site of the renowned British trading firm, Parry & Company. The area eventually took on the name Parry’s Corner, which remains one of Chennai’s most iconic commercial intersections. Click image to enlarge.
Also see View of Madras Harbour & Parry’s, Old Photo 1870
Did you know- in the earlier days, the months between April-June and October-November were considered cyclone seasons. Ships have to leave the harbour and proceed to sea as a precautionary measure.
From the collection- M F Hussain Painting – Air India Advertising Postcard 1960.,n Cotton Cleaning Bombay 1910 – Old Postcard., 1914 The Terror of Madras Warship Emden WWI – 1999 Print., British India Hindostan – Antique Map 1863
