Whispers carried on the wind through the Bel Air Cemetery tell tales of Seychelles’ past. This is the oldest historic site in Seychelles. It opened in the late 1780s. French settlers created L’Etablissement du Roi on Mahé Island in 1778. This cemetery became their final resting place.
Bel Air Cemetery was the first official burial ground on Mahé. The French opened it. Here lie many important people. Their tombs and vaults mark milestones in Seychelles history. You must see the graves of pirate Jean-Francois Hodoul. Also see Pierre-Louis Poiret’s grave. Some say he was the son of Louise XVI.
This Bel Air Cemetery is next to Saint-Louis Hill. It stretches for 0.57 kilometers. The cemetery has a legend immortalized in Creole folklore. Many vaults hold the remains of the first French inhabitants. These are ancestors of many Seychellois people. They still carry the old last names.
Let’s talk about some notable figures buried here at Bel Air Cemetery. Corsair Jean-Francois Hodoul rests here. Also, Charles Dorothée Savy is buried here. He was a nine-foot giant. Neighbors poisoned him at age 14. They feared his height. Pierre-Louis Poiret’s remains are also here. He claimed to be Louis XVI’s son. He fled the French Revolution. He sought refuge in Seychelles. A son-in-law of QuÉau de Quinssy is also here. He was a magistrate and civil commissioner. His grave was rediscovered after the 1862 landslide.
In October, Madame Nassimah Dindar spoke here. She is the President of the General Council of La Reunion. She promised support for restoring the tombs. Alain St.Ange addressed the gathering. He was the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture. He said La Reunion would provide expertise and security. They would also fence the cemetery.
Ambassador Phillipe Delacroix also spoke. He highlighted France’s commitment to preserving its heritage. The tombs bear names of French nationals. They came from Marseilles and La Reunion. These tombs link Seychelles and France historically. The Embassy planned a project to restore the damaged tombs.
The Bel Air Cemetery opened in the early 1780s. It was the first burial place after L’Etablissement du Roi. Today, broken tombs and rusted crosses tell Seychelles’ history.
Victims of the smallpox epidemic of 1883 are buried here. The main flood of 1862 also left its mark. Many who perished found their final resting place here. At the entrance, a slab reads “Belle pensée d’un commandant bienaisant”. It is a beautiful thought from a benevolent commander.
Time and weather have taken their toll on the Bel Air Cemetery. Graves, tombs, and crosses are now ruins. They are broken coral limestone and rusted metal. Among the rubble, you can find fragments of epitaphs. You might see a name, a date, or an age. Many children are buried here. They died of diseases easily preventable today.
Catherine Heloïse Larcher’s grave is the oldest surviving one. She was born in 1909 and married in 1822. She died in 1825. She married at 13. She had her first child at 15. She died at 16, nine days after giving birth to her second child.
The Bel Air Cemetery closed in 1902. It became a National Monument in 1985. As you wander through this historic ground remember the stories etched in stone. They are tales of settlers, epidemics, and lives both long and short. Here in Bel Air Cemetery, Seychelles’ past lies in rest.