Eureka House – a glimse back in time (Mauritius)

Eureka House / Maison Creole is a restored 19th century mansion of historical significanse to the island. It is located in Moka, almost in the center of the island. A visit to this magnificent mansion gives a good idea of colonial life in the 1800s. The house is has a lush garden with lots of diffent species of trees and plants. In adition, it's located by Moka River and with acces from the garden to some small waterfalls. A few weeks ago, i desided to visit. Mauritius has quite a few restored mansions and creole houses that dates back to the beginning of the 1800s. This was when the island was under French colonial power. At that time the sugar industri was the bais of the economy. A few people became quite wealthy, which you will see when you visit some of the old houses.

A tour of the house

This place consists of several buildings. Besides the main house there is a smaller building at the entrance. This is where you buy the ticket and goes through to the entrance of the house.

Besides the main house there is the old kitchen. At the time these houses were built, the kitchens were always in a seperate building. When I looked through this kitchen I notices someone was working behind the exhibited old pots and kitchenware. This is where food is prepared for the small cafe in the main building.

Before entering the house itself, I went around the house on the outside. When I came around to the garden I came to the set table. I did notice there was a sign telleing that there was a conferance going on here. I quess the table was set for lunch for the participants and not visiters. I would have liked to enjoy a lunch sitting here though.

Now I entered the house and started to explore the rooms. Livingroom, diningroom, study, bedrooms etc. Many of the objects and everyday items, are from different places. For instance these furniture in the living room came from the East India Company. The piano is French. In some rooms I saw porcelain that comes from China. Some items seems to have come from India. The walls did have paintings and photos of people whom I quess have been living here.

Old photos and drawings from different places on the island. I found the photos from Port Louis the most interesting. Port Louis is the capital, which I know very well. I recognized the places on the photos, even though they don't look quite the same any more.

History of the mansion

This beautiful, creole style house was built around 1836. The owner from the beginning of its history, was sir Henri Le Clézio. He passed it on to his descendants. The house indicates they must have been wealthy. Through the woman who sold me the entrance ticket, I did find out that their wealth came from the sugar industri. That explanes possibly the items from different continents. The house was almost torn down some time ago. The reason was a plan to construct another building. Lukily it didn't happen. Instead it was renovated in order to preserve the present building which is now part of Mauritian heritage. In 1986 this prosess was completed and the result is what we see today.

After the tour of the house, I went into the gorgeous garden. From here the view of the house took my breath away. Standing here I could hear the river. Because of dense vegetation, it was impossible to get a good photo. My plan was to walk down to the waterfalls, but there were lots of mosquitos.

I decided to go back into the garden and rather enjoy the view of the house and have a closer look at the flowers and trees.

The whole place gives a feeling of tranquility. It is so quiet and relaxed. I didn't want to leave quite yet, so I had a cup of coffee, sitting on the porch at the entrance looking at the mountains.