The modern port of Cochin is situated in “Willingdon Island”- a historical monument of human effort, which was constructed reclaiming 3.2 Sq.km of land under the visionary leadership of a British Harbour Engineer Sir Robert Bristow and named after Lord Willingdon. This colossal reclamation work was achieved with the help of a dredger by the name ‘Lord Willingdon’, which worked relentlessly since its arrival at Cochin in 1926 till the successful completion of this mammoth project. Having outlived her life Dredger Willingdon sank off the Cochin harbour in 1979, but its anchor was brought ashore and installed to remind us of our past. Another fitting tribute is by Artist Mahaprabhu Ramachandran who conceived a monument,’The Anchor that made this island’. This monument is installed in The Merchant Navy Club and is a tribute to ambition, skill, determination, and perseverance of Robert Bristow and his team in making one of the safest harbours in the peninsula.