‘Kutch Museum’ holds the status of the oldest museum in Gujarat -
Kutch Museum is the oldest museum in Gujarat. On the banks of Hamirsar Lake in Bhuj, the building of Kutch Museum, designed in Italian Gothic style, becomes a center of attraction for tourists at first sight. The Kutch Museum is maintained and maintained by the Department of Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, Government of Gujarat. After the devastating earthquake in the year 2001, the Kutch Museum was restored on February 20, 2008 with the blessing of the present Prime Minister and the then Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi.
If we look at the history of establishment of Kutch Museum, it was established on July 1, 1877 as a part of School of Art under the guidance of Acharya Shri J.D. Esperance by King Maharao Khengarji III of Kutch. It is worth mentioning that, on the occasion of Rao Khengarji’s wedding in February 1884, a huge exhibition of arts and crafts of Kutch was held. When the exhibition was over, the question arose as to where to store these artefacts. The need for a separate building for the collection of these artifacts led to the foundation stone of the present building of the Kutch Museum being laid by the then Governor of Bombay, Sir James Ferguson. The birth of the Kutch Museum during the reign of Khengarji III in Kutch was established as a landmark occasion in the history of other museum movements in Gujarat. Due to the efforts of the then Governor of Bombay, this museum was named Ferguson Museum by the Maharaja.
In time, when Gujarat became an independent state from Bombay, the museum was reopened to the public and renamed the Kutch Museum. The two-storied building of the Kutch Museum was designed in the Italian Gothic style by the then State Engineer Mr. Mac Leland. The museum is made of a special type of red colored sandstone. Due to the earthquake in the year 2001, many buildings in Kutch were razed to the ground. The Kutch Museum also suffered heavy damage. The Kutch Museum building was renovated after the earthquake due to the efforts of the Gujarat government. The adjacent Alfred High School building was also acquired by the state government in view of the development of the museum after the earthquake situation.
