The founder of Modern Nilgiris, John Sullivan, was remembered on his 227{+t}{+h}birth anniversary with the unveiling of his bust at Kannerimukku in Kotagiri on Monday.
It was unveiled by Collector P. Shankar at the house that is known as Pethakkal Bungalow built by Sullivan about two centuries ago.
A letter from Collin Sullivan, a seventh generation descendant of John Sullivan, was read on the occasion. In his letter, he expressed his gratitude for remembering his forefather and came forward to assistant to initiate new projects to establish the link of John Sullivan with The Nilgiris.
Members of the John Sullivan Memorial Committee – for which the District Collector is the Chairman – said that the statue was made at a cost of Rs. 2.5 lakh. Kakki Shanmugam, a village representative, recalled contributions of Sullivan in initiating the development of Ooty and The Nilgiris in the various fields.
Memorial park
A memorial park on an area of 9.34 acres was inaugurated at Kotagiri close to the place where the statue was unveiled.
Sapling plantation and cultural programmes by children marked the day.
Nilgiri Documentation Centre organised a tour to mark the birth anniversary. In the four-hour tour covering a distance of 16 km around Ooty, participants visited lesser known houses and buildings built by Sullivan. The tour started from St. Stephen’s Church in Ooty.
Landmark buildings covered by the participants include Ootacamund Club owned by him, Rose Cottage, Lark Hill’ in 1829 on the Woodcock Road above Ooty Lake that was later renamed as Caerleverock, Fairlawns and his last residence Richings Lodge. Most of the buildings are now owned by private parties.
Director of the centre Dharmalingam Venugopal expressed the need for a heritage tag for the landmarks established by Sullivan.
“The heritage tag will help locals realise their importance and preserve it and also help turn those places to sites of interest for tourists,” he added.
