5 facts about Seychelles' 114-year-old Carnegie Building, first public library

(Seychelles Nation)

(Seychelles News Agency) - The 114-year-old Carnegie Building, Seychelles’ first public library, reopened this year following renovation works that restored it to its former glory and splendour.

The building, which now features a remarkable resemblance to the one that was opened in January 1910, stands not only as a reminder of the colonial character and British era but one of the style, elegance, and architecture of Seychelles in the distant past.

SNA presents you with five interesting facts about the Carnegie Building. 

Andrew Carnegie, benefactor

Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland, and later emigrated to the United States. He set up the Carnegie Steel Company, becoming the largest manufacturer of pig iron and steel rails in the world. It is estimated that Carnegie had spent half of his fortune on philanthropic projects. When he died in 1919, he had funded around 3,000 libraries around the world.

(Theodore C. Marceau, Wikipedia) Photo Licence: CC0

Donation to set up library

Seychelles' first public library was opened following a donation of £1,750 (then SCR26,250) from Andrew Carnegie. The news first appeared as an ordinance – number 14 – of September 24, 1908, which was enacted “to provide for the establishment and management of the Carnegie Library”.

Construction

Work on the building began in January 1909.  The builder was William Marshall Vaudin and the architect was Henry A. Pare. The Carnegie Building, a one-storey structure made of mortar, included a wide verandah on the first floor with a wooden balcony with a balustrade of timber posts supported from the ground floor by a row of white masonry pillars.

(Seychelles National Museum) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

Public Library opens

In November 1909, the Government Gazette published the Carnegie Library Regulations for the opening of the library. It was inaugurated on January 22, 1910, by Walter Edward Davidson, who was the second British governor of the colony of Seychelles. On June 23, 1982, Act 12, published in the Official Gazette, closed the doors to the 74-year-old Carnegie Library, and the public library was moved to a different location, and in later years to a central position in the capital Victoria, called the National Library, where it remains today.

(Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

Natural History Museum and today

On June 30, 1994, the National Natural History Museum was inaugurated in the Carnegie Building to promote awareness, understanding and respect for the islands' biodiversity. The Museum closed in 2019 due to the building's deterioration. Today, after renovation, it is home to the Seychelles National Institute of Culture, Heritage and the Arts (SNICHA) on the ground floor. The top floor houses the Public Account Management Unit of the Department of Finance.

(Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY