Tracing Mahebourg’s Roots: From Dutch Settlement to French Town

A Story of Land and Legacy

By Sada Reddi

Visitors unfamiliar with the region often mistake Mahebourg for other villages on the south-eastern coast, such as Petit Bel Air, Rivière des Créoles, Ferney, and Vieux Grand-Port. This is understandable. It also explains why in 1985, when the government decided to set up a monument for the abolition of slavery, they chose Mahebourg, mistakenly believing it was where the first slaves landed. In reality, it is well known that the first group of 75 Malagasy slaves, introduced by the Dutch, actually landed at Vieux Grand-Port. All of them escaped into the forest, marking the first protest against slavery on the island.

Recently a couple of friends invited me to explore Mahebourg’s history, and I was happy to join them. My companions included Kiran Jankee, a researcher at Aapravasi Ghat, along with archaeologist Jaysree Medhi and photographer Nipon Medhi. We visited Mahebourg on three occasions to rediscover the village I settled in at the age of ten after leaving Port-Louis. Though I never sank deep roots in the locality in the decade I lived there, I still feel a certain attachment to my adopted village and had wandered through almost all its streets and corners, from river to sea.

We began our exploration at Pointe de la Colonie, a site many have heard of but few have ever visited or know the exact location of. This was the area’s original name before its founder, Captain General Decaen, renamed it Mahebourg in 1805. The name “Pointe de la Colonie” was given by early inhabitants who settled on the left bank of the Rivière la Chaux and along the coast stretching from what is now known as Ville Noire to Vieux Grand Port. This was the site of the first Dutch settlement, where they grew lemons on the riverbank to combat scurvy among sailors. The Dutch named the river “Limoen River,” but this was later mistranslated into the French “la Chaux”—an incorrect name that has endured to this day.

The same area was later occupied by early French settlers. It was here that the first land grants were made to individuals like Lenoir, St Martin, Dumas, Brocus, and many others. For these inhabitants, Pointe de la Colonie was the nearest landing site on the right bank of Rivière la Chaux. Pointe de la Colonie was chosen to avoid the low-lying, muddy riverbank, as it was located on higher, hard ground of black stones. Although there were other landing sites — such as Pointe Canon, Pointe des Régates, Pointe Jerome, and Pointe d’esny — Pointe de la Colonie was the nearest one at the mouth of the river.

This was obvious to us as we stood on these rocks contemplating the Bay of Grand-Port with its sea gleaming under the sun, and far in the background were Lion Mountain and a chain of mountains and hills. Behind us, a small lawn led to a former doctor’s house, now renovated for the National Coast Guard. Just beyond that, a dense cloak of trees lined the riverbank.

French settlers were likely drawn to La Pointe de la Colonie because, while the flat land along the river’s right bank had no available grants, properties were being given out further up the hill. Individuals such as Guimbert, Kerlavent, Rochecouste, Robillard, and Labonté all received land there. The settlers used this landing spot as a vital trading hub to send agricultural produce to the inhabitants of Grand Port Bay and receive necessary goods in return. Before 1805, the location was a bustling centre for the embarkation and disembarkation of goods, complete with its own warehouses and lodgings.

In 1805, when the grid plan of Mahebourg was mapped, the streets intersecting at right angles were traced from Cent Gaulettes Road and De Limites Street in present-day Ville Noire. Streets like Bambous, Bazaar, Boulangerie, and St Martin crossed over La Chaux River to end at the coastline. The early buildings consisted of warehouses, a hospital, barracks for four hundred soldiers, and a few other offices. It was not long before the British captured Mauritius in 1810 and took over the buildings. The British regiment occupied the barracks in the 19th century and probably added the present football pitch for exercises and parade.

The surrounding region is still called ‘Quartier,’ an abbreviation for ‘quartier militaire.’ All the buildings have disappeared and been taken over by new buildings such as the National Coast Guard, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and a motor vehicle garage. A few ruins in the bushes and construction stones lying by the roadside remind us of stone buildings of yonder days.

From under a car in the garage, a mechanic pointed out a monument to us. It turned out to be a tombstone in a small square, fenced with four old cannons standing upright in the four corners, each muzzle filled and welded with a strong chain. The names of British soldiers who died in the country were inscribed on the four sides of the tombstone. On the riverbank, some distance away, a warehouse with walls about twenty feet high, which still existed in the 1980s, had vanished, and only the mooring spot has survived with one or two old stone slabs to which boats were secured in the past.

In 1771, Kerlavent built a residence on Rivière la Chaux, which today serves as the Naval Museum. A sugar factory was built on the same river nine years later, in 1780. The house passed through several hands, being inherited by the Robillard family, then the Rochecouste family, and finally by Nenours Guede. The alley that ran from the building to the seacoast was known as “L’allée Guede” and is still remembered by inhabitants as the boundary of the old Guede property. While the planned streetscape ended at Bambous Street, the present church wasn’t built until 1845. Between Bambous Street and L’allée Guede were various fields and forests, including an area called Bois d’Oiseaux until the 1960s, and another named Carreau Manioc.

After the British takeover, Farquhar used Indian convicts to build the road from Mahebourg to Port-Louis. The 30-foot-wide road was nearing completion by 1817, significantly easing travel between the two towns.

A canal was also constructed to bring water from the La Chaux River near Beau-Vallon. It passed behind the kovil, crossed the courtyard of Chateau Guede, followed the newly built Royal Road, and continued along Canal Road. The canal ended in a reservoir that supplied water to the washhouse and early buildings in Mahebourg. The canal still exists, and its traces in the museum yard could be uncovered through an archaeological dig, enhancing the museum’s historical value.

In the 1840s, Magistrate Charles Telfair expanded on Farquhar’s work by adding new buildings, including the Magistrate Court, a police station, schools, and prisons. He also extended the canal to other streets to provide water to more inhabitants. As a result, Farquhar’s canal became popularly known as Telfair’s Canal.

By 1845, the La Chaux sugar factory belonged to Victor K’Vern, and its old, neglected chimney still stands today. The sugar estate was later sold to De Courson, who moved the factory to Villeneuve.In 1840, the workforce at the estate consisted of both ex-apprentices and Indian immigrants. The current inhabitants of Mahebourg living along L’Allée Guede are descendants of these early Indian immigrants.

The focus so far has been on the layout and origins of Mahebourg, but history is not just about buildings; it is also about the people who built and inhabited them. The next article will delve into the lives of the inhabitants during the first half of the 19th century. Interestingly, many present-day families in Mahebourg have a family history spanning 150 to 200 years, with at least one family member still living in the town, even if others have migrated.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 19 September 2025