Robertsonpet

Last updated

Robertsonpet
City
India Karnataka location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Robertsonpet
Location in Karnataka, India
Coordinates: 12°57′17″N78°16′36″E / 12.9547°N 78.2767°E / 12.9547; 78.2767
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
State Karnataka
District Kolar
Area
  Total
58.12 km2 (22.44 sq mi)
Elevation
843 m (2,766 ft)
Population
 (2011)
  Total
162,230
  Density2,433.31/km2 (6,302.2/sq mi)
Languages
  Official Kannada
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
563 122
Telephone code08153
Vehicle registration KA-08

Robertsonpet is a township in the city of Kolar Gold Fields in India. It is one of the first planned residential areas in modern-day India. The township was planned and built to accommodate the increasing population of the city of Kolar Gold Fields. The town hall popularly known as King George Hall is lavishly built in Victorian style with an impressive lawn and garden in front of it.

Contents

Robertsonpet was established in 1902 and named after Sir Donald Robertson the British Resident of the Princely state of Mysore. It is considered to be one of the premier well-planned townships in Modern India. [1]

History

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the mining industry expanded under the John Taylor and Sons Company. In its peak period, it employed 4500 employees, and the waste rocky terrain was developed into a township. [1] The township was first established in 1901 as New Town, to house the population working in the KGF Mines. On 15 August 1903, the township was renamed as Robertsonpet. [2] The town got its name at the insistence of the Maharaja of Mysore, who named it after Sir Donald Robertson the British Resident of Mysore. As the township grew, tradesmen such as bakers, confectioners, jewellers, pawn brokers, barbers, timber merchants, tailors, etc. migrated and set up shop in Robertsonpet. [1]

A town hall (similar to town halls in Australia) was built in Victorian architectural style with arches, canopies and large gardens, and was named as the King George Hall. The KGF Club in Oorgaum and the King George Hall Cosmopolitan Club were established providing faculties for badminton, tennis, cards, carom, snooker, etc. [1]

Sir Donald Robertson

Sir Donald Robertson is credited with starting the hydro-electric plant at Shivanasamudra, which supplied electricity to the KGF Mines. [1] Robertson served as the British Resident of the Mysore Darbar in the 1900s, and during his tenure drafted the Constitution of the princely state of Mysore. He worked towards providing amenities to the population of KGF, even to those who were not employed by the mines, and is largely credited for establishing the KGF mining towns. In recognition of his services, His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV renamed New Town as Robertsonpet. After retirement from government services, Robertson joined the mining enterprise John Taylor and Sons Company. He died on 13 October 1930.(p. 291) [2]

Demographics

There is also a substantial Anglo-Indian population at KGF, descendants of the English mine supervisors. [3] Robertsonpet is a melting pot of cultures with people of different communities: Kannada, Anglo Indian, Tamil, Telugu, Marwari, Muslims, etc., living in the township. [1]

Languages

Languages of Robertsonpet (2011) [4]

   Tamil (65.46%)
   Telugu (15.04%)
   Urdu (8.06%)
   Kannada (7.20%)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitefield, Bangalore</span> Suburb in Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Whitefield is a suburb of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka, India. Established in 1882 as a settlement for the Eurasians and Anglo Indians of Bangalore, Whitefield remained a quaint little settlement at the eastern periphery of Bangalore city till the late 1990s when the local IT boom turned it into a major suburb. It is now a major part of Greater Bangalore. Whitefield is Bengaluru's first tech corridor to be connected by Namma Metro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolar district</span> District of Karnataka in India

Kolar district is a district in the state of Karnataka, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadiyar dynasty</span> Royal family that ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399–1950.

The Wadiyar dynasty,(Kannada:[ oɖejɐru]) also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore, is a late-medieval Indian royal family of former maharajas of Mysore from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Mysore</span> Monarchy in India (1399–1947)

The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially throughout the kingdom's lifetime. While originally a feudal vassal under the Vijayanagara Empire, it became a princely state in British India from 1799 to 1947, marked in-between by major political changes.

The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences, organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in December 1932. They were conducted as per the recommendation of Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Viceroy Lord Irwin and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and by the report submitted by the Simon Commission in May 1930. Demands for Swaraj or self-rule in India had been growing increasingly strong. B. R. Ambedkar, Jinnah, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, K. T. Paul and Mirabehn were key participants from India. By the 1930s, many British politicians believed that India needed to move towards dominion status. However, there were significant disagreements between the Indian and the British political parties that the Conferences would not resolve. The key topic was about constitution and India which was mainly discussed in that conference. There were three Round Table Conferences from 1930 to 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolar Gold Fields</span> City in Karnataka, India

Kolar Gold Fields (K.G.F.) is a mining region in K.G.F. taluk (township), Kolar district, Karnataka, India. It is headquartered in Robertsonpet, where employees of Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) and BEML Limited and their families live. K.G.F. is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Kolar, 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka. Over a century, the town has been known for gold mining. The mine closed on 28 February 2001 due to a fall in gold prices, despite gold still being present there. One of India's first power-generation units was built in 1889 to support mining operations. The mine complex hosted some particle physics experiments between the 1960s and 1992.

Andersonpet is a township of Kolar Gold Fields, located in the Kolar district on Karnataka, India. It is situated in Kolar District of Karnataka state and having pin code of 563113.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethamangala</span> Village in Karnataka, India

Bethamangala is a small town in the Kolar Gold Field taluk of Kolar district in the state of Karnataka, India. The town is centred around a large man-made lake created by damming the Palar river. The lake supplies drinking water to the nearby mining city of Kolar Gold Fields ("KGF"). The Bethamangala water works was established in 1903-04 and is a popular tourist site.

King George Hall is the town hall of the city of Kolar Gold Fields in India. It is situated in the centre of Robertsonpet and was built in honour of the then emperor of India, King George. It is built in the Victorian style with a lawn and garden in front of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daly Memorial Hall</span>

The Daly Memorial Hall, is a heritage building located in Bangalore, Karnataka that houses the Mythic Society. The Mythic society, founded in 1909, is a pioneering institution of Catholic-Indic studies in South India. Daly Memorial Hall, built at a cost of INR 24,783, was inaugurated on 25 July 1917 by the Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar (the Yuvaraja of Mysore. The Hall is named after Sir Hugh Daly, who served as the Resident of Mysore State and Chief Commissioner of Coorg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolar, Karnataka</span> City in Karnataka, India

Kolar or Kolara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for the Someshwara and Kolaramma temples.

KGF School is a combined primary school and high school campus in Kolar Gold Fields, India. It was founded by the John Taylor and Sons Company in 1899 or 1900 to educate the children of European gold mine staff. Initially, only European children were admitted. Eventually, admission was opened up to some Anglo-Indian and even later Indian children, but they were segregated from the European children.

M. A. Sreenivasan (1897–1998) was a minister in the Princely State of Mysore and was also Dewan of Gwalior.

Our Lady of Victories Church is a Catholic church situated in the Kolar Gold Fields within the Kolar district, in the State of Karnataka in India. This was the first parish church that was established in the Kolar District (1884–1932) and heads the other parishes under its Diocese. Originally, the church consisted of 16,000 Catholics, which included 9,000 Tamil followers and 1,000 British and Italian followers. There were also 5,000 parishioners that belonged to other parishes in the congregation.

The Karnataka Central Diocese is one of the twenty-two dioceses of the Church of South India covering the central part of Karnataka. The Church of South India is a United Protestant denomination.

Lavelle Road is an upmarket residential and commercial street in the city of Bangalore, Karnataka in India. It is an important connection between Mahatma Gandhi Square and Richmond Circle. The road starts from the Queens Road end of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and after curving in a serpentine manner meets the junction of Bangalore Club with Richmond Circle. Lavelle Road was named after Michael F Lavelle, an Irish soldier who later made his money in the Kolar Gold Fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coromandel, KGF</span> Coromandel in Karnataka, India

Coromandel is a mining area in Kolar Gold Fields(KGF), Karnataka, India. Where major mining units are located.

Fraser Town, Bengaluru or Mootocherry, is a locality of Bangalore Cantonment, located in the central part of the city spread over 4 km2. It was established in 1906 and is named after Stuart Mitford Fraser (1864–1963), who was the tutor and guardian of Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, Maharaja of Mysore. Fraser Town was established to de-congest the growing Bangalore Civil and Military Station. The foundation of Fraser Town was laid in August 1910 by Mrs. F J Richards, with a commemorative plaque on the corner of Coles Road and Mosque Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Michael's and All Angels' Church, Oorgaum, KGF</span> Church in Kolar Gold Fields, India

St. Michael's and All Angels' Church is located at Oorgaum, Kolar Gold Fields, India. The church stands on Cooke Road, near the KGF Club, south of the Catholic Mother of Mines Church. The origin of the church goes back to 1899, and was for the exclusive use of the (white) officers of the John Taylor and Sons, London, which owned the gold mines at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Mysore State.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 White, Bridget (15 November 2010). "Tale of two thriving townships". Deccan Herald. No. Bangalore. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 Srikumar, S (12 March 2014). Kolar Gold Field: (Unfolding the Untold) (International ed.). Partridge Publishing. p. 336. ISBN   978-1482815078 . Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  3. White, Bridget (2010). Kolar Gold Fields - Down Memory Lane: Paeans to Lost Glory!. Central Milton Keynes: Author House. ISBN   978-1452051031 . Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. "Census of India".