Robert Bristow (engineer)
Bristow recounted his experiences in his book Cochin Saga, which is considered an important source of historiography of Kerala.
According to Sreedhara Menon, It took some time for the British authorities to realise the commercial and strategic potential of Kochi as a port and take the necessary steps for its development, as if to compensate for the earlier neglect.
The challenge Bristow faced in his task, was the obstruction caused due to a rock-like sand bar that guarded the entrance to the port.
However, he was widely optimistic, and started off with a detailed study of the harbour and submitted a report to Lord Willingdon, the Governor of Madras.
He showed that the Vypin coast could be protected from erosion by laying large granite boulders to reduce the force of the waves and that the scraped soil could be used in an environmentally friendly way.
[4][5] However, Bristow's port project was seen by the India Office authorities in London as the crazy idea of a British engineer.
This is because the dredger ship and other technologies required to build the port at Kochi, as well as the necessary fuel and metals including iron, were not readily available during the ravages of the First World War.
The steamship Padma, sailing from Bombay on 26 May 1928, was the first major ship to enter the newly constructed inner harbour of Kochi.
Speaking to the BBC on 11 August 1935, Bristow proudly proclaimed his achievements at the Kochi port with the following words: I live on a large Island made from the bottom of the sea.
Sir Robert Bristow in his book "Cochin Saga" (1959) tells the history of foreign government and business adventures in Kerala, South India, by Arabs, Romans, Venetians, Dutch, and British.
Baring the prevailing social stigma, the Bristows opened the club to people of all races and genders, doing full justice to its objective of being "a club where men, women and children of all communities would have the opportunity of meeting together and cultivating mutual acquaintance and promoting good fellowship.
