Karl Schmidt Memorial @ Elliots Beach (Besant Nagar) - Name Reason

Image Source: Wikimedia.org

:: Chennai Factoids ::

:: Karl Schmidt Memorial at Elliots Beach - Besant Nagar ::

Many of us have passed by this wonderful structure in the Elliots Beach , Chennai. There is a wonderful story behind this and to those who don't know the name of this structure, It is called as "Karl Schmidt Memorial".

The Karl Schmidt Memorial is an architectural landmark commemorating a Dutch sailor who drowned in 1930 while he trying to save the life of a girl.  According to historians, the Dutch sailor, who had gone to the beach, saw an English girl getting into the water who soon started struggling. In a successful attempt to save her life, he lost his own. The English girl, who Schmidt saved from the sea, attended a ball the following evening as though nothing had happened. The then governor, who was apparently angry with her, built the memorial to mark Schmidt's gallant act.

Image Source: Wikimedia.org

According to the experts, it was built using Bricks without a stone foundation. The improper and uneven base and the sea water and also poor maintenance have caused major damages to this memorial.

The memorial is the only heritage structure on Elliot's Beach. The memorial stone in the memorial reads,  "To commemorate the gallantry of K A J Schmidt who was drowned near this spot on December 30, 1930 while helping to save the lives of others."
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Couldn't get any further details about this place and Mr.Karl Schmidt . We just crossed his 82nd Death anniversary on 30th December 2012 and still this place is not properly maintained. Whom needs to be blamed for making such a monumental place as a dirty litter place ? We should not blame the authorities for this, instead we should blame ourself for making it dirtier day by day. This structure is not just the memorial, it stands an alarm of the deadly nature of the sea.

It is worth mentioning here that The Chennai Bloggers Club, a group in Facebook where I am also a member, has made an initiative to send e-mails to ASI ( (Archeological Survey of India) requesting the ASI authorities to declare the Schmidt Memorial as a protected national monument and undertake its restoration. Click here to read the mail sent by one of our member Rajesh K (Destination Infinity) to ASI in this regard.

Source: Wikipedia, The Times Of India,