Renowned historian Tony Mathiot dies at 61 |25 January 2024
Tony Mathiot
Seychelles’ renowned historian Tony Mathiot, whose encyclopedic knowledge of recorded events that happened here and his ability to locate them made him famous among journalists, authors, students and even the ordinary Seychellois, has died.
He left this world late yesterday afternoon.
According to a police communiqué, Tony, aged 61, was seen not responding on the footpath behind the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Victoria by a family member when going home. He was certified dead on the scene by the police’s pathologist and an investigation is under way as the autopsy report is awaited. The police said they were informed of the incident at 5.30pm.
In his message of condolence following the passing Mr Mathiot, President Wavel Ramkalawan acknowledged the extensive contributions made by the former throughout his career: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mr Tony Mathiot, an avid Seychellois researcher, writer and historian. His contributions to the preservation of our history and extensive cultural knowledge were beyond exceptional and he will be sorely missed by all. On behalf of the country I present our sincere condolences to his family and friends during this time of great loss.”
Cecile Kalebi, permanent secretary within the Seychelles National Institute of Culture, Heritage and the Arts, told Seychelles NATION she was in a state of shock.
“We lost Norbert Salomon a few weeks ago and now Tony (Mathiot). This is a huge loss,” PS Kalebi told Seychelles NATION.
As for Tony’s work colleague Anne-Marie Banane, she said: “Tony was himself an archive”.
“He was always willing to share whatever information he had gathered and he was ready to help everyone who came to the Archives. He even encouraged students to study history and to become historians adding that “I will be gone some day and you have to take the baton”.
Freelance writer, researcher and historian, Tony Mathiot once told Seychelles NATION in October 2012 that he had a “pathological passion for writing and literature”.
“I feel I always have something to do. So many books to read and so much to write about. There are the mist forests to explore. I never feel bored,” he told Seychelles NATION journalist John Lablache who himself passed away on Saturday November 14, 2020 at the age of 69.
Tony was journalist Lablache’s guest for an article titled ‘I have an almost pathological passion for writing and literature’ for the Up-Close column published on October 30, 2012.
The younger brother of famous television journalist Patrick Mathiot (Pat Matyot) who has since retired, Tony, who used to visit the beach at Anse Marie-Louise every Saturday to go for a swim, spent a lot of his time at the National Archives which he considered his second home and his desk was always piled high with books and papers. Tony mostly wrote long hand, churning out over 2,000 words a day.
“I consider myself the adoptive son of the Ministry of Culture,” he proudly told Mr Lablache.
Over the years, Tony had been a regular contributor to the Air Seychelles in-flight magazine Silhouette and wrote for the New African based in Ghana.
But it was through the column of Seychelles NATION that Tony appeared every day, on page 4, as part of the series ‘Calendar of events: a year of dates in our history’.
When the Seychelles NATION newspaper celebrated its 45th anniversary on June 29, 2021, yours in writing invited Tony to make a contribution in the bumper 64-page special issue published on June 28, 2021.
His contribution was entitled ‘It’s been 18 unbroken years’ and he started off by saying:“The best advice I always give to a young aspiring freelance writer is to publish your first articles in your local paper before attempting to submit materials to any international magazine. In that way, you can have the advantage of making yourself known among your local daily or weekly newspaper’s readership which sooner or later will have you being commissioned for writing projects by various establishments. It boosts up confidence and it’s good for your ego!”
Tony published his first article in the Seychelles Weekend NATION in 2003 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Victoria Clock Tower.
He added:“As the ‘in-house’ historian in the department of culture, I am dutifully responsible to research and write articles on various aspects of our history. These are produced at spasmodic intervals during the year for commemorative occasions such as International Monuments Day, International Museum Day, and Africa Day… besides which I research and write a whole lot independently. Quite a few institutions or departments have judiciously saved articles that I have written. I know for certain that an article I wrote in 2017 entitled ‘Our passport is 40 years old’ is displayed conspicuously at the Civil Status/Immigration Office behind a glass frame. That’s an eminent example of how my many hours of inordinate research and writing have not been in vain!
“I’ve experienced the exciting evolution of Seychelles NATION from the days when you could fold it into four and it could fit in your back pocket. I remember the masthead being red, then orange, then green and now it’s red again ‒ from the time when it was sparsely illustrated with a few black and white photos to its present lavishly colourful form.
“As a historian, I feel utterly privileged to have the Seychelles NATION as an outlet for my historical peregrinations and as a source of enlightenment for all those who need to know about the history of Seychelles. It’s gratifying to know that during the last 18 years I have contributed to make Seychelles Weekend NATION an enjoyable Saturday paper.
“My ‘Today in History’ dates were born at the bottom of page 3 of the daily Seychelles NATION. These were usually three or four brief sentences that succinctly informed readers of what happened on that specific date in history. The project was initiated by Mr Patrick Nanty, a representative of ICOMOS (International Conservation of Monuments and Sites). They were later translated into French by Dr Marie-Reine Hoareau and later made into daily four-minute history talks on SBC Television by Shirley Lesperance. Just an example of how something big can bloom from the pages of Seychelles NATION!
“Well, yes, it’s been a long writing adventure all along. I know it won’t be over any time soon. Not for as long as Seychelles NATION remains our daily paper…par excellence!”
In fact, Tony’s adventure with the Seychelles NATION newspaper is not likely to end just now for he emailed yours in writing at 3.01pm yesterday with his first contribution for the year 2024 which will be published in the issue of Saturday January 27, 2024.
I am not sure if he had the chance to read my response which I sent at 5.02pm. In case he did not, all I can say now is “Adieu mon ami. Que ton âme repose en paix”.
Gerard Govinden
