St. Joseph’s Convent, Champion Reefs , Kolar Gold Fields

Sharing a photo of our 7th Std Class in St Joseph’s Convent sent to me
by my Friend Jane Rajaratnam Hoover. Such nostalgia looking st all our dear friends
We were around 12 or 13 years old. Mrs Hazel Sesarego was

our Class Teacher. 

Below is a short excerpt from my book

Kolar Gold Fields Down Memory Lane 

I was privileged to have studied in St Joseph’s Convent school at Champion Reefs. St.  Joseph’s Convent which established more than 105 years ago. The school celebrated its   centenary year in 2004-05. The Convent school had well equipped Science laboratories. There were separate physics labs, chemistry labs, Botany and Zoology labs. The libraries had a vast collection of reference books, Story books, Novels as well as rare and old manuscripts. 

Our schooling years were great thanks to our wonderful teachers. The teachers were all highly qualified and were kind as well as strict. They instilled the basic human values in us that still hold good today. They taught us the importance of hard work, dignity, honesty, integrity and to strive for excellence in whatever we did. They motivated us to rise above the mediocre and strive for bigger things. Many of the old students of St Joseph’s Convent also hold high positions in various parts of the world. They are teachers, doctors, engineers, computer professionals, etc around the world.

Some nostalgia about St Joseph's Convent KGF - Buying tuck from the Tuck Women

Our school, St Joseph's Convent, Champion Reefs, KGF,  didn’t have a Canteen or cafeteria. Every child had to carry her own packed lunch to school. My mum usually packed chapattis or sandwiches for us in plastic Tiffin boxes. Chapattis with butter and sugar or jam was our favourite choice for lunch. 

We had ur lunch in our class rooms or we ate it sitting on the benches under the huge trees in the school garden.

 Besides our plastic Tiffin boxes, we also carried our own water to drink in brightly coloured plastic water bottles with long shoulder straps. Some times when we didn’t carry our bottles to school, we just drank water straight from the taps in the school compound and didn’t worry about picking up any germs from the tap water!!!

 Our school didn’t have a tuck shop either so to speak. However, the cooks in the convent kitchen made delicious ground nut toffee for sale almost every day. We had to stand in line to buy squares of this toffee every day after lunch, through the Trellis of the Convent Kitchen. The Jaggery toffee with the chunks of roasted groundnuts in it was delicious.

 Some of my most memorable and happy memories connected with my school days at St Joseph’s Convent are of buying the forbidden tuck from the Tuck Women who always sat on the road outside the school gate with baskets of Green Mangoes, Borums, Gutty palams, Pani Chakke, Pattani, boiled Groundnuts etc.

 We were actually forbidden from buying anything from these Tuck Women, but their wares were so tempting that we just couldn’t resist the temptation. The thrill of disobeying the teachers and nuns to eat the ‘forbidden fruit’ was a great ‘high’ for us.

 For just 4 annas or 25 paisa, we could buy tuck such as green mangoes, green tamarind and guavas (which we ate with chilli powder and salt), Borums and Gutty palams (I don’t know the English word for this fruit but they were small purple fruit the size of small plums), Luckily we didn’t suffer from any tummy upsets or illness after eating all this junk.

TENENTS SHAFT , CHANPION REEFS, KGF

A very old photograph of Tenents Shaft. Most probably in the early 1900s. Check out the Bullock Cart as well as the old broken down car in front of it. Also note the attire worn at that time.

Tenent Shaft was one of the flagship Shafts of the JOHN TAYLOR AND SONS COMPANY

OUR LADY OF VICTORIES CHURCH, CHAMPION REEFS, KGF - A SHORT HISTORY

Our Lady of Victories Church in Champion Reefs KGF was established in 1890. It was first known as St. Mary's church and was the very first Church to be estblished in KGF. it was renamed as ‘The Church of Our Lady of Victories’ on the 25^th of October 1953.

When the John Taylor and Sons Company first started mining operations in the Kolar region in 1880, the place was hardly inhabited. However with the growth of the Mining Company over the years, the population also increased and the Official census of 1891 recorded a return of 7,085 inhabitants in 1981 and 37,965 in 1901. This population included a mix of Hindus, Christians, Muslims, etc.

According to the History of the Catholic Mysore Mission, towards the end of the 19th century there were more than 5000 Christian in KGF of all denominations. The Paris Mission Fathers of St Joseph's College, Bangalore, would to go to KGF by bullock cart, to offer mass for the miners once a month. The Mass was often held in a shed, as there was no Church at that time.

Subsequently, with pressure being exerted by the Christian inhabitants, a new Parish was created in KGF in 1890. The spiritual needs of those early Catholics were now taken care of by the priests of the first Catholic Church of KGF namely St Mary’s Church, in Champion Reefs.

Fr J. Fraysse, (MEP), was sent as the first Parish Priest of the Champion Reefs Parish, and he was instrumental in building the Priest's house and the Church. He was also instrumental in initiating the establishment of the Community of St Joseph’s of Tarbes in the same Church Compound.

However due to a severe Rock Burst on 23^rd January 1952, the Church and the School buildings collapsed and were completely destroyed. While the Convent and the community of St Joseph’s of Tarbes were accommodated in the bungalow of Mr. Arthur Taylor, the General Manager of the Mines, the Priests of the Parish were put up in a mining house close by. 

The church was rebuilt into its present shape and completed in 1953. Archbishop Thomas Pothacamury blessed and inaugurated the new Church, and christened it ‘The Church of Our Lady of Victories’ on the 25^th of October 1953.

Now this beautiful Church is a little too small for the large Parish population. So to accomodate more parishioners during the Church Services, a new Church has been built just beside the present Church which can accomodate more than 2000 people at any given time.

The New Church of Our Lady of Victories will be consecrated and opened on the 27th Feb 2013.

 

This is a picture of the New Church. may Our Blessed Mother continue to shower her blessings on the people of KGF
 

THE CHAMPION REEFS WORKSHOPS

This is a recent pricture of the Champion reefs Workshops. The windows are missing and this old stone building lies in ruins.