Victoria turns 225

Victoria town as it approaches its 225th birthday

Victoria town was established on December 15, 1778  and the town will therefore be 225 years old on Monday December 15.

A committee that is organising events to commemorate the anniversary during Year 2004 is hoping that individuals and organisations will contribute in different ways towards marking the event.

"We hope that photographers will, for example, bring in interesting snaps for exhibition under such heading as 'My Victoria,'" a key member of the committee said Thursday December 11.

He said it was with the arrival of a contingent of French soldiers on December 15, 1778 whereupon they started to establish some form of authority on Mahe, that the town was founded.

A correspondent who has been researching into the history of the town, Mr Tony Mathiot, hopes to contribute a feature to appear in Seychelles Nation soon.

Narrating the origins of the town Thursday, he said that the story of Victoria began in 1778.

"It was on December 15, 1778, which, according to the Gregorian calendar that was in adoption at that time, must have been a Tuesday, that a garrison of 15 French soldiers under the governorship of Lieutenant Charles Routier de Romainville landed on Mahé," he said, adding that they were accompanied by 123 slaves.

"They built settlements on the banks of the St Louis River, which consisted of the commandant’s 32- by 12-foot house, a large store measuring 80 feet by 30 feet and a hospital," he said.

He said that close to the river were barracks with a jail in the basement, and a kitchen.

"Later, a small bridge across the river led to the forge, huts for the slaves and a large vegetable garden. An enclosure for tortoises was soon added," he said.

He noted that previously, in 1770, 26 settlers had arrived with slaves to clear the land.

"Apparently the region was very densely covered with vegetation and foliage.

According to records obtained from the archives, the population of Seychelles in 1913 was around 23,000 and the number of people living in Victoria and its small suburban communities was not more than seven thousand. Most men were employed in agricultural labour or worked as carpenters, blacksmiths or fishermen. Homes for most people were small wooden structures perched on low masonry pillars.

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