Chatham Saw Mill, Port Blair (Sri Vijaya Puram): History, highlights and visitor guide

History and context

The story behind Chatham Saw Mill

The mill was established in 1883 by British colonial authorities to meet the demand for sawn timber for construction on the islands and export to Britain. It grew into Asia's largest and oldest saw mill of its kind, and was bombed by Japanese forces in 1942 during the Second World War before being restored to operation afterwards.

Today the mill is run by the Andaman Forest Department, which also operates the adjoining Forest Museum, opened in 2006, documenting the mill's history and the islands' forest ecology.

Useful facts

Chatham Saw Mill facts at a glance

Location

Chatham Island, about 11 km from central Port Blair, connected by bridge

Experience type

Working colonial-era sawmill with an attached forest museum

Known for

Asia's oldest and largest saw mill, established 1883, still in operation

Architect/Built

Built by British colonial administration, 1883

Time or schedule

Open roughly 8.30 am–2.30 pm, closed Sundays and public holidays

Why it matters

Why Chatham Saw Mill is worth your time

Chatham Saw Mill is a rare working link to the earliest years of British administration in the Andamans, built specifically to exploit the islands' timber resources and still operating well over a century later. Its continued use, rather than preservation as a static ruin, makes it different from most of Port Blair's colonial-era sights.

The site's wartime scars, a bomb pit and bunker from the Japanese bombing during the Second World War, also tie it into the islands' occupation history, a chapter that is easy to overlook next to the more heavily promoted Cellular Jail story but is part of the same broader arc from colonial rule through wartime occupation to independence.

Highlights

What not to miss

1. 01

   The working sawmill floor

   See old and current sawing machinery in an active timber mill, a rare working colonial-era industrial site.

2. 02

   The Forest Museum

   Photographs and displays on the mill's history and the biodiversity of the Andaman forests, opened in 2006.

3. 03

   The wartime bunker and bomb pit

   Remnants from the 1942 Japanese bombing of the mill, a short walk from the main sawing yard.

Plan your visit

How to experience it

Established in 1883, Chatham Saw Mill was built by British colonial administrators to process timber for construction across the islands and for shipment back to Britain, and it remains, remarkably, a working mill today under the Andaman Forest Department, still producing thousands of logs a year. The site sits on its own small island, reached by a short bridge from Port Blair, which gives the visit a slightly separate, industrial feel from the town's other sights.

Hiring one of the low-cost guides at the entrance is worth it here, since the machinery and processes are not otherwise well labelled; a guided walk covers the sawing yard, old and current equipment, and takes you past a Japanese-era bomb pit and bunker from the Second World War, when the mill was bombed. The attached Forest Museum, opened in 2006, adds photographs and displays on the geography, biodiversity and history of the Andamans' forests, including some carved wooden pieces and orchid displays.

Most visitors treat this as a 60 to 90 minute stop rather than a half-day outing, often combined with the nearby Cellular Jail or Samudrika Museum on the same morning, since all three sit within a short drive of one another.

Know before you go

Timing, access and comfort

Area

Chatham Island, connected by a short bridge, about 11 km from central Port Blair

Time needed

1 to 1.5 hours

Best time

Morning, before the midday closure at 2.30 pm

Walking level

Moderate

Senior comfort

The site involves walking across a working mill yard with machinery, sawdust and uneven ground in places, plus a forest museum with level indoor floors. It is manageable at a slow pace but is not a manicured garden path; sturdy, closed shoes help.

Tickets and access

Entry is ticketed at a low fee, with a modest extra charge for a guided walk through the mill. The site is closed on Sundays and public holidays; confirm current timings before travelling out.

Plan it with

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