Mackinnon Road is a town in
Kwale County
Kwale County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kwale, although Ukunda is the largest town.
Kwale county has an estimated population of 649,931.
Kwale is mainly an inland county, but it has coastline south of Mo ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, with a population of around 8000 in 1999, located between
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
and
Voi. Just a few kilometers from
Taru.
History
![The Royal Navy during the Second World War A13667](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A13667.jpg)
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
a
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
airfield was established at Mackinnon Road after the
British Eastern Fleet
The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.
Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...
retreated to Mombasa following the
Indian Ocean raid
The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo ...
. Airfields at Voi and
Port Reitz Airport
Moi International Airport is an international airport in Mombasa, the second-largest city in Kenya. In 2020 the airport was heralded as the "Best Airport in Africa" (with under 2 million passengers annually) by Airports Council International. ...
were also used to disperse the fleet's
carrier
Carrier may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos
* ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game
* ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...
aircraft in case of attack by the aircraft carriers of the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
. These airfields were administered by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
shore establishment ''HMS Kipanga II'' ("Kipanga" is
Swahili language
Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...
for "
goshawk
Goshawk may refer to several species of birds of prey, mainly in the genus ''Accipiter'':
* Northern goshawk, ''Accipiter gentilis'', often referred to simply as the goshawk, since it is the only goshawk found in much of its range (in Europe and N ...
").
Between 1947 and 1950 Mackinnon Road was the site of a large British engineering and Ordnance Depot designed to hold 200,000 tons of military stores. The British had anticipated the loss of military bases in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
due to a rise in nationalism in that country and decided to create another base that was able to serve their military needs in the western
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. The plan was abandoned and the base became a detention camp for
Mau Mau suspects until 1955.
Transport
It has a station on the railway between Mombasa and Nairobi and was probably named because it was a junction of the
Uganda Railway
The Uganda Railway was a metre-gauge railway system and former British state-owned railway company. The line linked the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya. After a series of mergers and splits, the lin ...
and the
Mackinnon ox cart road outside Mombasa. Construction of the road was started in 1890 by the
British East Africa Company
The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) was a commercial association founded to develop African trade in the areas controlled by the British Empire. The company was incorporated in London on 18 April 1888 and granted a royal charter by Q ...
and the railway in 1896 by the British colonial administration. The road fell into disuse as the railway overtook it.
Main sights
There is a
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
which houses the tomb of
Seyyid
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamma ...
Baghali, a
Punjabi foreman at the time of the building of the railway who was renowned for his strength. Originally there was a simple grave at the site, but after travellers attributed their safe journeys to visiting the grave, a mosque was built.
[WHY TRAINS SLOW DOWN AT MACKINNON ROAD, from interviews with late Ikram Hassan, Mombasa accessed at http://www.esikhs.com/articles/sikh_heritage_in_east_africa_01.htm 19-Dec-2009]
See also
*
Mackinnon-Sclater road
References
{{coord, 3, 44, S, 39, 03, E, display=title, region:KE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Populated places in Kwale County
Populated places in Coast Province
HMS Kipanga II