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SIKH AND HUNDU TEMPLE 2. (cont.)
(All Rights of Reproduction are Strictly Reserved)
We have seen that the opening ceremony of the Sikh and Hindu Temple at Morrison Gap took place on May 11, 1902. Following the religious ceremony, there was a general meeting, at which the attendance included several Europeans. A ring was presented to Mr. Brotherton Harker, the architect of the temple, to be a gift for his wife from the Sikh and Hindu community.
Mr. Harker, in acknowledging the gift - a handsome gold ring set with diamonds thanked the donors very heartily for their kindness. That gift, he said, was a token of their appreciation of his endeavours to construct their temple to the best of his ability. The circumstances attending its construction had rendered his task rather difficult, but he was pleased to think that his work had given them satisfaction.
Describing the newly-built temple the Hongkong Telegraph said:
"The building is a handsome structure reflecting credit to the architect, who has had to contend with circumstances of considerable difficulty in connection with the work. The basement floor is arranged as a shelter for strangers and will accommodate 30 or 40 such. A cook house and office are adjoining.
"Above is the temple proper, a spacious oblong apartment, 30 feet by 50 feet, running the whole length of the building and opening out on to balconies on each side. At the upper end sits the officiating priest, and the floor is laid with carpets for the worshippers. The hall is approached from the front by a broad flight of steps. The facade of the temple is of Moresque design and presents a very pretty appearance. Except for the grant of a site by the Government, the entire cost of the erection of the temple has been borne by the Sikh and Hindu Community of this and some neighbouring coast towns.
"The opening ceremony was the culmination of a design which the Sikh and Hindu Community in these parts have fondly cherished for something like twenty years. The $12,000 or so that the completed temple and crematorium are estimated to cost have been almost all subscribed, and only by the exercise of great self-denial on the part of those concerned.
"It is unfortunate that now, when the scheme is on the direct road to completion, an objection should have been put forward by the Government to the effect that they cannot authorise the construction of the crematorium in the form proposed.
"Hitherto the cremation of the Sikh dead has been carried out by the primitive method of wood fire in the open air. In connection with the temple a crematorium was proposed to be built at a cost of $500 or $600 which would have sufficed for all the needs of the community, but the authorities decline to sanction such a structure and recommend the erection of a crematorium of the European model. Such a place would cost anything from $20,000 to $30,000, and as the cost of cremating a dead body in that fashion is correspondingly expensive, as compared with the present system, the Sikhs find themselves quite unable to follow out the Government's recommendation."
Eventually some form of compromise appears to have been arrived at, for an adequate crematorium was duly erected.
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