Munroe Island Tourism

Munroe Island is a group of small islands in Astamudi Lake. It is a delta formed where the River Kallada joins the Ashtamudi lake. In 1795 the British established their supremacy in South India and the princely state of Travancore came under their governance. From 1800 onwards, a Resident was appointed by East India Company as administrative head of Travancore. The first Resident was Colonel Colin Macaulay, followed by Colonel John Munro. During his tenure Munro oversaw the land reclamation efforts in the delta and the reclaimed island was named after him as Munroe Island. The Dutch Church here in Munroe Island is one of the ancient churches in Kerala. It was built by the Dutch in 1878. The red brick church is a blend of Dutch-Kerala architecture on the scenic banks of Lake Ashtamudi.
There is a story that brought this name to the island. From 1800 AD onwards, at a time when we were under the rule of the East India Company, a resident had been appointed by the authorities to maintain their supremacy here. The first resident to come here was Colonel Collin Macaulay, followed by Colonel John Munroe. It is said that during Munroe’s tenure,Pulikottil Joseph Kathanar,a senior priest of the Malankara Sabha,approach him and expressed this desire to start a seminary to train priests and requested for a place for the converted Christians to settle. Colonel Munroe gave them this island and this place was named after him by the locals. History says that Munroe was a great administrator. Even after British Raj was gone his name was retained.