InfrastructureBritish Crown rule
Madras Harbour begins operations
An artificial harbour at Madras began handling ships in 1881, though a cyclone the same year wrecked much of the breakwater.
Madras had long lacked a natural harbour, and ships were unloaded by surf boats. The foundation stone for a new port was laid by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) in 1875, and work on breakwaters started in 1876. The harbour began handling ships in 1881, but the storm of 12 November 1881 breached more than half a mile of the almost completed breakwater. The pier was rebuilt by 1885, and the Chennai Port Trust treats 1881 as its founding year.
