Muelle Loney (pronounced as Mool-ye) refers to Iloilo’s River Wharf and the street at the western side of the river. It is being used today as a port for inter-island vessels such as ferries and “Roll-on Roll-off” (RORO) boats plying the Iloilo to Bacolod route. Thousands of passengers, pedestrians, and motorists pass by Muelle Loney everyday. Unknown to most of them is the history of Muelle Loney and its central-role in the birth of the prosperous sugar industry of the Visayas during the 1800s to 1900s.
Iloilo’s River Wharf, a natural harbor for ships seeking protection from strong winds and tropical monsoons.
In the 1700s to early 1800s, there was already a prosperous large-scale weaving industry in Iloilo, some references even refer to Iloilo as the “Textile Capital of the Philippines” during those times. Iloilo’s River Wharf was developed to export textile to Manila. The river wharf became a favored port because it is naturally protected from strong winds and tropical monsoons by the nearby Island of Guimaras.
Although there were already some small sugar plantations in Iloilo and Negros Occidental during the 1700s, it wasn’t until the opening of the Iloilo Port to international trade in 1855 and the coming of British Vice-consul Nicholas Loney, a year later, that the sugar industry of the region skyrocketed to unprecedented heights.
Stone Warehouses built during the colonial era still stand along Muelle Loney Street
Through Nichloas Loney’s firm of Loney and Ker Co., he was able to encourage the sugar trade in Negros and Panay by importing modern machineries from Europe and paving the way for sugar planters to avail of crop loans. Increasing development and trade activities in the wharf, which eventually extended into the waters between Iloilo and Guimaras called Iloilo Strait, made Iloilo a port of call and it was transformed into a business seaport. It was during this time that Iloilo was given the title of Queen City of the South, for being the most prosperous province in the Philippines outside the capital, Manila.
A large and imposing customs house, or aduana, was built to oversee the booming trade in Iloilo
Because of Nicholas Loney’s contribution to Iloilo’s development, the river wharf was named after him and he was given recognition as the “Father of the Philippine Sugar Industry.” A statue of Nicholas Loney stands in Muelle Loney Street in his honor.
Statue of Britanic Majesty’s Vice-Consul Nicholas Loney, considered as the “Father of the Philippine Sugar Industry.”
Location Map
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Thanks a lot marcos, hope there’s more people like you who do things like this. I can hardly find things for free this days. :] thanks a lot for the info, i badly needed it for some reports..
yes its near the provincial capitol.
Is this near the provincial capitol?
I missed the Aduana or the Customs house. I used to climb up there at the tower to take photos of the Muelle Loney from above. There used to be no security guard back then. I wonder if I can ever do that at this present time…
Thanks Lara.
Before, I used to put the watermarks unobtrusively at the corner of the pictures, I put the name exploreiloilo.com so that people will know where the picture was coming from. Unfortunately for me, I later realized how much media ethics, or lack of it rather, is practiced in “respected” local print media here. Far too many times that I’ve experienced seeing my pictures printed in local newspapers without permission, that part is called stealing BTW, they do not even acknowledge me or ExploreIloilo.com, and what’s worse is that they even crop out my watermark (since it can be easily done if its just at the corner).
I was also concerned about the impact of making the watermarks blatantly visible but then finally decided to push through after thinking more about it. I spend my own time and money to take these pictures and post it in the internet for free. The least I would want to happen is have some lazy people make money out of my hardwork.
I do provide pictures with no watermarks and at a larger resolution. If someone needs them, all they have to do is contact me.
I agree. That’s geat Marcus,
Those pics are actually great, but i think something’s off the spot. Those huge watermarks just block the what’s supposed to be a great view. I understand that you protect some rights but it’s to some point that it obliterates the audience’s excitement to view them for a period. It would be better to place a small one on the sides or corners.