A bronze statute of John Sullivan, the 'creator' of the hill resort town 'Ooty' (Udhagamandalam) in the 19th century, was unveiled at the Sullivan Memoridal Building at Kannerimukku, about 35 kms from here, as part of his birth anniversary celebrations today.
Sullivan, born in London in 1788, was an employee of the East India Company and was the Collector of Coimbatore and Nilgiris from 1815 to 1830.
He was instrumental in founding modern 'Ooty'.
The three-foot tall bust of Sullivan was unveiled by District Collector P Shankar at a function on the premises of a museum set up in his memory by the district administration.
The adminisrtation has decided to develop a Sullivan park in a 10 acre site, which will be ready before the next annual flower show, a major attraction of this tourist town.
This would be a tribute to Sullivan, who was also instrumental in constructing the roads connecting the district with the plains, Shankar said.
Lauding the administration, Sullivan's great great great grandson, Colin Sullivan has sent a mail, saying he was excited about the celebration and wanted to know whether the administration needed his help for the same, officials said.
