Lavelle Road

Lavelle Road is in the city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka, 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 its destination at the junction of Bangalore Club with Richmond Circle. Lavelle Road was named after Michael Lavelle, an Irish soldier who made his money in the Kolar Gold Fields.

Local pronunciations have included: La Velley Road, Lovely Road, Love-ella Road, Law-ell Road, Laalley Road and Level Road.

MacIver Town or Shantala Nagar, in the very heart of the city, is the popular neighbourhood which comprises the residential and business districts of Kasturba Road, Lavelle Road and Vittal Mallya Road. The area is named after L.J. MacIver, the collector and president of the Municipal Commission of the Civil and Military Station between 1934 and 1937. He was also the president of the Bangalore Club in 1935 and 1936.

Michael Lavelle on 20 August 1873, applied for the right to carry on mining operations in Kolar. He started his work in a small village called Oorgaum. Two years previously he had examined portions of the Kolar district (without any grant it would seem, from no mention of one being made), and found three gold-bearing strata, in one of which he sunk a shaft to the depth of eighteen feet, and found that gold increased in quality and size as he went downwards. In the event of a mining right being granted he proposed to begin work again in November. After some correspondence came a letter from the chief commissioner, dated 16 September 1874, submitting conditions (which must be regarded as final) as the basis of an agreement (to be afterwards legally drawn up) to be entered into between the government and Lavelle. The mining permission was the right to mine in Kolar extending over twenty years, at a royalty of ten per cent on all metals and metallic ores, and of twenty per cent on all precious stones.

On 20 September 1874, Mr. Lavelle accepted the terms, and on 28 March 1876, leave was given him to transfer his rights to other parties. On and from the 1886 onwards mining was again recommenced by Lavelle, who in the meanwhile had been prospecting in other parts of Southern India, and he succeeded in once more attracting attention to the Kolar field. Subsequently, various companies were formed, but so disappointing were the results obtained that all were practically closed. Thereafter, there is nothing much the state of affairs or the involvement of Lavelle in the gold mining activities.

In 1877, considering that Lavelle realised that the amount he was earning from mining was far less than he had anticipated, he had contemplated to sell the mine. A small syndicate known as the Kolar Concessionaires Soft Corporation and Arbuthnot Company of Madras, heard of Lavelle’s activities and approached him to sell his mining license to them. Lavelle took this opportunity and negotiated with them, for quite a good amount. After obtaining the approval of the Mysore British Government, he transferred all his rights and concessions to this syndicate known as the Kolar Concessionaries formed by Major General G. de la Poer Beresford and some of his friends. [1]

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