Tiger Hill Cemetery in the Nilgiris turning into ruins

Vandalism has ravaged one of earliest European burial sites

The fountain with a ‘mourning angel’that was vandalised by locals at the Tiger Hill Cemetery in Coonoor.

Described as one of the heritage sites with immense architectural splendour in the Nilgiris, the Tiger Hill cemetery in Coonoor, the burial site for some of the most famous members involved in the foundation of the modern Nilgiris, lies in complete ruin. The ravages of time and vandals play an equal part in the cemetery’s near complete destruction.

Constructed in 1905 with distinct Gothic-renaissance architecture, the cemetery was designed with some beautiful flourishes that set it apart from other European cemeteries built at the time, including the first European cemetery in Kotagiri, and the ones at the St. Stephens Church and St. Thomas Church in Udhagamandalam, which all pre-date the one in Coonoor.

Buried at the cemetery is Frederic Nicholson, father of the Indian cooperative movement, A.T.W. Penn, one of the first people to document the Nilgiris and Southern India through photography. Also laid to rest here were planters such as the members of the Stanes family, said Venugopal Dharmalingam, honorary director of the Nilgiri Documentation Center.

Local residents said the cemetery had been in a reasonably better condition till around ten years ago, after it fell into complete neglect. A. Saritha, a local resident working in the tea estates surrounding Tiger Hill, said vandalising of the tombs was common, as the cemetery had become a popular spot for tipplers.

The iconic fountain at the cemetery now has a broken statue of a “mourning angel,” overlooking the entrance to the cemetery. The statue was once a part of the grave of John Thompson, who retired from the Madras Survey department. It has now been broken and dumped inside a fountain at the entrance, said P.J. Vasanthan, a local heritage enthusiast.

“The mourning angel at the cemetery was just one among a triad of similar sculptures, two of which have gone missing, and are presumed to have been stolen,” said Mr. Vasanthan, who added that the graves of Samuel Boesinger, one of the first photographers of Coonoor, Herbert Arthur Popley, one of the first translators of the Thirukkural into English and C.M. Inglis, the curator of the Darjeeling Natural History Society, were also found in the cemetery. “There are also very unique Celtic Crosses at the cemetery, many of which have been destroyed over the years,” said Mr. Vasanthan.

“The Tiger Hill cemetery and the one in Kotagiri need immediate attention, failing which they are likely to become damaged beyond any chance for restoration,” said Mr. Venugopal.