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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2015}}
{{Short description| Largest man made Island in India}}
'''Willingdon Island''' is the largest [[artificial island]] in India, which [[:Category:Regions of Kochi|forms part of]] the [[Kochi|city of Kochi]], in the [[Kerala|state of Kerala]]. Much of the present Willingdon Island was claimed from the [[Kochi Lake|Lake of Kochi]], filling in dredged soil around a previously existing, but tiny, natural island. Willingdon Island is significant as the home for the [[Port of Kochi]] as well as the [[Southern Naval Command|Kochi Naval Base]], the [[Southern Naval Command]] of the [[Indian Navy]], Plant Quarantine station, [[Custom house|Custom House]] Cochin <ref>http://www.cochincustoms.nic.in/</ref> and [[Central Institute of Fisheries Technology]], a constituent unit of Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

The island is also home for other establishments associated with the port, namely, the ''Office of the'' [[Cochin Port|Cochin Port Trust]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cochinport.com/|title=Cochin Port Trust, Kerala, India|website=www.cochinport.com}}</ref> (that controls the [[Port of Kochi]]), the Customs Office'','' and more than two dozen export-import offices, warehouses, a few hotels and business centers.

== History ==
=== Conception ===
The idea of developing a new port in Kochi was first felt by Sir [[Robert Bristow (engineer)|Robert Bristow]], who was appointed by [[Lord Willingdon]], then-the Governor of [[Madras Presidency]], to create a new modern port on the West coast of India at Kochi.

=== Construction ===
The island was created during the construction of modern port in 1936, with the soil dredged out while deepening the [[Vembanad Lake]] to accommodate the new port. It was named after [[Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon|The 1st Earl of Willingdon]], the [[Viceroy of India]] at the time, who commissioned the project.<ref name="Cochin.org"/> [[Robert Bristow (engineer)|Robert Bristow]], the chief protagonist and engineer for the project, owned the first building on the island.

The first liner, which belonged to the Bibby Line, arrived at the island on 9 March 1935. A port hostel, called Malabar Hotel, was built for passengers who wished to rest on the island.

All the pre-planned basic port structure was completed in 1939, just in time for the [[Second World War]]. A deep wharf, a rail bridge and a road bridge to the mainland provided valuable infrastructure for the local war effort.<ref name="Cochin.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.cochin.org.uk/tourist-attractions/wellington-island.html|title=Willingdon Island|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317140345/http://www.cochin.org.uk/tourist-attractions/wellington-island.html|archive-date=2010-03-17|access-date=2017-05-08|url-status=live}}</ref> A naval works was also constructed on the adjacent [[Venduruthy]] Island to the south, where, by the end of the war, they were busily constructing [[landing craft]] for the presumed invasion of [[Japan]]. In 1940 a passenger jetty and customs house were built adjoining the hotel, together with a passenger platform and rail siding.

[[File:Kochi view from taj malabar.jpg|right|thumb|View from [[Vivanta by Taj]] - Malabar Hotel in Willingdon Island.]]

=== British military use ===
The [[Royal Air Force]] quickly found use for this flat expanse of conveniently located virgin territory, and constructed a large [[aerodrome]].<ref name="Cochin.org"/> The artificial island thus became a thriving military base. The Malabar Hotel provided quarters for all the wartime staff and the building gained a new administrative block next door to it.
Taken over from the RAF by the Royal Navy on 1st October 1942, and recommissioned as HMS Garuda. It was a Royal Navy Aircraft repair yard with a capacity of 180 aircraft. Decommissioned on 1 April 1946. <ref>Chatterji, Adhar Kumar (1985). Naval aviation: a world history. Allied. p. 151.</ref>
A new post office, an open-air swimming-bath between the hotel and offices, and a branch bank adjoining both, completed the amenities.

=== Since 1967 ===
Control of the transport hub was transferred from the British Empire to India in 1947, when the latter gained independence.<ref name="Cochin.org"/> During its short colonial tenure the island had handled at most one million tons of freight, by 1960 this had almost doubled.<ref name="Cochin.org"/> The island aerodrome was extensively developed and became the city’s modern military-cum-civilian airport. When Kochi got an [[Cochin International Airport|international Airport at Nedumbassery]],<ref>cial.aero/</ref> 25 km north-east of the city, the civilian enclave of the Island airport was shut down. The airport continued as the naval air station [[INS Garuda]]. The remaining space on the island was quickly utilized in the 1950s, and far from being an unnatural appendage of the picturesque and ancient city, the isle, left behind by the British so soon after its completion, became the commercial heart of the ancient metropolis of Cochin.

Cochin is a major port in India, and Willingdon Island is a landmark. The Island is connected to the mainland by Venduruthy Bridge, which has road and railway links.<ref name="Cochin.org"/> There are two railway stations on the Island - the Mattancherry Halt and the [[Cochin Harbour Terminus railway station|Cochin Harbour Terminus]]. The headquarters of the [[Southern Naval Command]] of the [[Indian Navy]] is located on the island. [[Cochin shipyard]]<ref>cochinshipyard.com/</ref> is also located near this island. It is also a major tourist center. Willingdon Island is also home to several hotels and offices of clearing agents.

Apart from these, the Island has a [[dry dock]], a fire station, tank farms, a hospital<ref>http://cochinport.gov.in/index.php?opt=medicalservices&sub=26&tab=1</ref> and places of worship. The Port Health Organisation functions on the Island and it works towards the prevention of entry of Quarantinable diseases.<ref>http://www.porthealthcochin.org</ref> Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industries is strategically placed here, as is the Government of India Tourist Information Office in the vicinity of the airport. This island is a hub of international trade. A number of port offices, branches of national and international banks, travel agencies, souvenir shops, and warehouses. Employees of the Cochin Port and Custom House live on the island. For the benefit of these families and those on the Naval Base, there are five schools and a Kindergarten. Three of these schools belong to the [[Kendriya Vidyalaya]] groups of schools.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Willingdon Island}}

{{coord|9|57|N|76|16.5|E|region:IN_type:isle|display=title}}

{{Kochi (India) topics}}
{{Neighbourhoods of Kochi}}
{{Tourism in Kerala}}

[[Category:Regions of Kochi]]
[[Category:Geography of Kochi]]
[[Category:Islands of Kerala]]
[[Category:Neighbourhoods in Kochi]]
[[Category:Suburbs of Kochi]]

Willingdon Island - Revision history

Umaiordarame at 16:19, 20 August 2025

imported>WikiCleanerBot: v2.04b - Bot T12 CW#548 - Fix errors for CW project (Punctuation in link)