2023 – A year of anniversaries   |15 April 2023

The chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Throughout the course of this year, various dates on the calendar will mark milestone years of many of our country’s iconic institutions, establishments and so forth. On behalf of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, Tony Mathiot takes us through this catalogue of anniversaries.

This year we are using the same calendar that we used way back in 1978 and that we also used recently in 2017 and that we will also use in 2034, that is, just over a decade from now. Well, this year the calendar is inunDATED with anniversaries! Silver Jubilee (our constitution which was adopted on June 18, 1993 is 30 years);

Ruby Jubilee (RTS/SBC which opened on January 1, 1983 is 40 years) as well as the Central Bank of Seychelles which was inaugurated in 1983 to replace the Seychelles Monetary Authority which had been created in 1978 and which functioned almost like a Central Bank. Guy Morel (1953-2006) was the first Governor from 1983-1991.

Another 40^th Anniversary is for the Anglican Chapel of St George at Maldives.The dedication by Bishop French took place on April 23, 1983. The investiture of St Paul’s Scouts was held there on Sunday April 30, 1995.

Golden Jubilee (the Anglican Diocese of Seychelles which was created on March 25, 1973 is 50 years); the Anse Boudin Chapel on the North East Coast of Praslin is also 50 years old this year. Designed by a Swiss Architect, Jean-Pierre Friedli, this National Monument was blessed on April 1, 1973 by Mgr. Gervais Aeby (1924-1981).

Diamond Jubilee (Father Gustave Lafortune who was ordained on June 30, 1963 celebrates 60 years of priesthood). Likewise, Bishop French Chang-Him who was ordained on March 9, 1963 is also celebrating 60 years – 16 years as a priest (1973-1979) and 26 years as Bishop (1979-2005), Bishop Emeritus (2005-). Father French was the first Seychellois to be ordained in the Anglican Church of Seychelles. The Happy Youth Club will also celebrate its Diamond Jubilee of 60 years existence. Founded by Brother Imier (1933-2012) and Father Alain (1923-2010) in 1963, Happy Youth Club remains the oldest surviving club in Seychelles.

There are at least two platinum anniversaries. One is Liberty House, originally called Queen’s Building which was inaugurated on June 2, 1953 the date of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and the church of St François d’Assise of Baie Lazare which was blessed on September 17, 1953 by Mgr. Olivier Maradan (1899-1975). They are both 70 years old this year. Seychelles’ first quadruplets will blow out their 70 candles. Rachel, Therese, William and Jessie were born to Louise Marie on October 15, 1953. Most septuagenarians among us will know that this year also marks the 70^th anniversary of the tragic loss of Mary Jane which went adrift on January 31, 1953 on passage from Praslin to Mahé with eleven people aboard. After 72 days only two persons had survived – Antoine Vidot (20 years old) and Selby Gorgate (15 years old). They were picked up by an Italian Steamer Montallegro and taken to Kuwait. Masses were held in all parishes for the safe return of Mary Jane and her passengers. 

We have at least one Diamond and Emerald Jubilee. That’s the lofty and majestic Domus which is 90 years old. It was built between 1930-1933, at the time when the evangelical zeal of the capuchin priests from the Swiss province was in the zenith. In fact, this manifestly ostentatious edifice is the magnum opus of a capuchin missionary, Brother Gélase Ruffleux, who was born in 1896 at Crésuz in the province of Fribourg, a religious and cultural centre in Western Switzerland.

Brother Gélase arrived in Seychelles on Saturday November 3, 1928, at thirty-two years old.

He had hardly become accustomed to the sweltering heat and humidity of our side of the Equator when he decided that the terrain next to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception would be ideal for his grand scheme…

Hewanted to build a home for the pulpit that would flaunt its ecclesiastical dignity.  Labour was plentiful and cheap during the 1930s when most men and women eked out a frugal existence on coconut and cinnamon plantations.

But Brother Gélase had to reckon with many constraints among which was the lack of PORTLAND CEMENT!  Joseph Aspid’s 1824 invention was practically unavailable on the island.

So he resorted to a method first used by the Romans. In order to make mortar and concrete he sends men out to collect limestone coral from the reefs around Mahé.  When this was burned and melted, the material formed into small lumps called clinkers.  These were ground to a fine powder which when mixed with water set very hard within a few hours.

Yes the inhabitants must have awed at the structure towering heavens-high!

Brother Gélase created the building according to a plan by father Antoine Marie (1882-1952), who had arrived in Seychelles the same year as he but only three months before.

But his creative exuberance would not allow him to restrict himself to his colleague’s technical drawings.

Before deciding to become a missionary, he had spent a few years as a Swiss guard at the Vatican, at the time of Pope Benedict XX (1854-1922) where he had been fascinated by the magnificent architecture, those pinnacles of elaborated carvings, sculptured figurines and Corinthian columns with acanthus motifs.

As the building rose and widened he added a story and then another, meticulously making the balusters of each balcony in a different mood, perhaps just to add vitality to the sublime symmetry of the almost Palladian design.  An oratory was placed at the top surmounted with a masonry cross.  He even created an Aquaduct that supplied water to the building from an artesian well situated on the hill slope above. During its early years, the Domus was as white as a wafer.

There are seven sapphires – the Developing Bank of Seychelles (DBS), the Bank of Baroda, Oceangate House, the Bicentennial Monument, the Seychelles Court of Appeal and the Church of the Holy Family of Grand Anse Mahé will all mark their 45^th Anniversary (1978-2023). The Development Bank of Seychelles was opened by President France Albert Rene (1935-2019) on October 20, 1978. In 1978, the Bank of Baroda in Seychelles was the 50^th International Branch to set up in 8 countries outside India. The first managing director was Jean de Lamberterie who set up the bank in September 1977. Oceangate House was built on reclaimed land. When it opened, a popular bar and restaurant called ‘La Cambuse’ was located on the ground floor. The Bicentennial Monument was inaugurated, rather belatedly, on June 4, 1979 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the town of Victoria since its foundation in 1778 by the Frenchman Charles Routier de Romainville who arrived in his brig L’Hélène at Mahé in October of that year, accompanied by a small contingent of men.  The town they built near the banks of the River St. Louis became known as L’Etablissment du Roi, the king of course being Louis XVI (1754-1793).  It was later renamed Victoria in 1841 (after Queen Victoria of England). This monument symbolises the origins of the Seychellois race – the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe.  Indeed, one of the charming characteristics of our creole identity comes from our mixed harmony: European, Asian and African ancestry.  The population of our archipelago is a cosmopolitan brew of many races, as a result of the interbreeding among descendants of different ethnic groups. Conceived and created by the Italian artist, Lorenzo Appiani (1939-1995) these seemingly enigmatic shapes made of conglomerate gravel in a mortar matrix re-inforced with steel were erected by workers of the Laxmanbhai construction firm. It’s resemblance to avian wings has earned it the name moniman trwa lezel (three-winged monument) among many locals. The Seychelles Court of Appeal was established in 1978. In 2007, Francis Macgregor was the first Seychellois president of the Court of Appeal to be appointed. He occupied the post until 2020. In 2019, he published ‘The History of the Court of Appeal’. The Church of the Holy Family of Grand Anse Mahé was blessed by Mgr Felix Paul (1935-2001) on April 16, 1978. The parish of the Holy family was created in 1955 and the first parish priest of Grand Anse Mahé was Father Justin Barman (1907-1995).

95^th Anniversary to the war cenotaph at Mont Fleuri which was unveiled on November 11, 1928 by Governor Sir de Symons Montagu George Honey (1872-7945). Erected ten years after the 1918 Amnesty, the cenotaph bears the names of the Seychellois men who went to East Africa where they succumbed to malaria and dysentery for ‘the Glory of the Empire’.

110^th Anniversary to State House and the Church of St Andrew at Cascade. Completed in 1913, both edifices are national monuments. The former one is a colonial heritage from British rule and the latter is one among many picturesque apostolic landmarks that punctuate the history of the Catholic Church in Seychelles. The construction of the new Government House was initiated by the second Governor of Seychelles, Walter Edward Davidson (1859-1923). The cost of the Governor’s sumptuous residence was R76,411.

Our beloved Victoria Clock Tower is 120 years old. It was inaugurated on April 1, 1903. Measuring 25 feet in height and 3 feet by 3 feet in width, with each 4 dials being 2 ½ feet in diameter, it is indisputably the most potent historical feature that dates back to the colonial era. The Mayor’s Office is also 120 years old. This must be the oldest official building in the Seychelles. Like most buildings constructed at that time, its design was dictated by the nature of the tropical climate, hence the skirting verandah all around the rectangular building. Its pedestrian simplicity is offset by the ornamental ironwork of the balustrade and staircase.  The basket-handle arches with study wooden doors typify the aesthetic concerns of the Edwardian period.

In November, Cable and Wireless will celebrate 130 years since Seychelles was connected by submarine cables to Zanzibar on November 12, 1893 by the Eastern and South African Telegraph Company. The submarine cables linked into the main traffic routes to Europe and the Far East via Aden and to the western hemisphere via Cape Town.

130^th Anniversary also to the Holy Saviour’s Church of the Anglican Parish of Anse Royale. It was consecrated by Bishop William Walsh (1837-1918) on September 7, 1893. Our oldest parishes, La Digue and Anse Aux Pins, are 170 years old this year. The church of Our Lady of Assumption at Anse Reunion, La Digue will turn 125 years in August (1898-2023) whereas the Church of St. Michael Archangel of Anse Aux Pins is 10 years old. It was blessed on September 29, 2013 by Mgr. Denis Weihe. It replaced the 1929 church that was built by Father Theophane Salamin (1896-1974). The new church was designed by a Cuba-trained architect Brian Changty-Seng who explored the beauty of geometry to produce a house of worship that defies the traditional ecclesiastic form. It is certainly a mind-boggling contrast to the little thatched chapel that Father Leon des Avanchers (1825-1879) built when he established the Parish of Anse Aux Pins in 1853. It was that same year in October also that Father Theophile Pollar (1826-1889) disembarked from a pirogue at Anse Dumont, Praslin and thereby established the Parish of St. Anne at Baie Ste Anne. The Parish of Ste Marie Madeleine at Takamaka and the parish of St François d’Asisse at Baie Lazare established in 1888 celebrates its 135^th year whereas the Parish of St. Joseph at Grande Anse Praslin created a decade earlier marks its 145^th Anniversary. As for the parish of Seven Sorrows at Anse Boileau, the birth place of the first Seychellois priest, Father James Chang-Tave (1918-1981), this year marks its 155^th Anniversary (1868-2023). The Parish of St. Joseph at Anse Royale is 157 years old (1866-2023). The Catholic cross was placed there for the first time in 1853 when Father Leon des Avanchers built a small chapel of Pandanus leaves. The first parish priest was Father Valentin de Reyvroz (1836-1883). The chapel of the sacred heart of Jesus at La Misère marks its 140^th anniversary this month. It was blessed on Friday April 6, 1883 by the Vicar Apostolic, Mgr. Symphorien Mouard (1828-1899). It was as of that day that the traditional annual pilgrimage to La Misère began, with worshippers coming from every district of  Mahè. An obligatory event on every devout Catholic’s calendar. The place possesses a forlorn beauty. Is it because the body of Mgr. Ignace Galfionne (1815-1881), who started the construction of the chapel is entombed in its foundation? Did you know that? La Misère was erected into a parish on November 13, 2014. Presently the parish priest is Father Gabriel Siransy.

Vallée de Mai was declared a World Heritage Site 40 years ago, 17 years after it had been declared a nature reserve in 1966…and 225 years after the Coco de Mer forest was discovered on Praslin. It was on November 20, 1768 during the Marion Dufresne expedition in the Indian Ocean that one of the boats ‘Curieuse’ dropped anchor off the coast of Anse Possession. Lamperaire, who commanded Curieuse, raised the French flag of Fleur de Lys and re-named the island Praslin in honour of Cesar Gabriel de Choiseul-chevigny, Duc Praslin (1712-1785) who was then secretary of state for the Navy. The island had been named Ile de Palmes by Lazare Picault in 1744 and then renamed Ile Moras (1718-1771) successor of Moreau des Sechélles (1690-1760) as Financial Controller. The origin of our Coco de Mer nuts were first seen floating in the Indian Ocean which engendered the absurd theory that the nuts came from trees that had been submerged when the Maldives were separated from the Indian-subcontinent. Thus, the scientific name Lodoicea Maldivica. It was during that same expedition of 1768 that the islands of La Digue and Curieuse were named respectively after the two boats of the expedition.

 Other 40^th anniversaries are for Air Seychelles, Independence House, Central Bank and the Sisters of Missionaries of Charity. Air Seychelles made its first international flight to Europe on October 26, 1983. The plane was a Douglas DC 10 aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The Central Bank of Seychelles was inaugurated on January 1, 1983 to replace the Seychelles Monetary Authority which had been created in 1978 and which had functioned very much like a Central Bank. Independence House which was built on reclaimed land was inaugurated on June 5, 1983. It was constructed by Laxmanbhai Ltd which tendered the lowest sum of R25,003,340.27 for the project. The approved budget for the project was R29,417,000.00. The Independence House Annex opened on June 28, 2016. The first 2 sisters of the Missionaries of Charity arrived in Seychelles on July 15, 1983. They settled at Anse Etoile where their founder, Mother Theresa (1910-1997) visited them in 1984.

It is an emerald anniversary for the International School which turns 55 years old this year. It was created by Noel Boulsover who was the principal of the Teacher Training College. Conservationists will celebrate 50 years since the Ste Anne National Marine Park was created in the Indian Ocean. The marine park which covers an area of 1.501 square metres is a veritable showcase of our submarine life which visitors and locals can enjoy from the comfort of glass-bottom boats.

It’s the 10^th anniversary for the Bin Khalifa al Nahyan Mosque which opened on October 11, 2013 at Beaufond Lane, 31 years after the first mosque had opened in Victoria in 1982. The first Muslim missionary to arrive in Seychelles was Dr Muhammad Fazi-Ur-Rahman Ansari (1917-1974) who in 1964 founded the world federation of Islamic missions, and the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic studies in Karachi, Pakistan. He came in 1973. During his visit, he visited Muslim communities at Anse Royale and Cap Ternay. He encouraged the building of a masjid (mosque) in Victoria.

The Seychelles National Youth Council (SYNC) celebrates its Silver Jubilee. It was established by Act 15 of 1997 and it was launched the following year, 1998, the year that the Seychelles National Youth Service (NYS) closed. Silver Jubilee (25 years) also for Airtel Seychelles which was launched in Seychelles in 1998, 3 years after it was founded in India in 1995 by Bharti Airtel Ltd.

The Domaine de Val des Près at Au Cap is 35 years old. It was inaugurated on October 24, 1988. It offers visitors a traditional Plantation House, a large Art Craft Village, a Creole Restaurant and an Art Gallery.

The New Port, now called the Commercial Port, was brought into commission in 1973. In 1969, 24 hectares of land was reclaimed to expand the foreshore of Victoria and 6 hectares for port facilities. The Commercial Port has a 370-metre long quay of which 264 metres were constructed between 1970-1972 and the remainder in 1984-1985. The Mahé quay opened for general cargo on February 1, 1975. So it’s a Golden Jubilee (50^th anniversary) for the Seychelles Marine Authority. 

Well, anniversaries mark the passage of time. The ones that we celebrate this year are the footprints of our history…