GAMSON MUNN FAMILY HISTORY OF RIET RIVIER AND MUNN ROAD IN OTTAWA
(Mr Gamson Munn as a member of the Ottawa Diwali Hamper Group handing out food hampers to the under-privileged)
(THE INFORMATION AND PHOTOS FOR THIS ARTICLE WAS PROVIDED BY JAI MUNN, ONE OF THE SONS OF THE GAMSON MUNN FAMILY)
By Subry Govender
One of the well-known residents of the Ottawa/Mount Vernon district was Mr Gamson Munn, who passed away at his home in Riverview Road at the age of 86 in 2021.
Gamson belonged to the famous Jhugroo clan who donated the land where the Jhugroo Primary School is situated in the area known as Tin Town in Ottawa.
Born in the Riet River village in 1932, Gamson was the son of Munn and Sanjaria. He had four brothers – Ramnanan, Kowlesar, Puran and Komal and three sisters.
His grandfather was Mr Jhugroo, who was the family ancestor who arrived in the former Port Natal to work as an indentured labourer in a sugar estate in the Ottawa region.
His ancestor came from a village in the North Indian state of Bihar.
Mr Jhugroo moved to the Ottawa/Riet River area in the early 1900s after completing his indentureship.
Through sheer hard work and toil, Mr Jhugroo purchased several properties in Ottawa and Riet River.
Most of these properties in Munn Road, School Road, Kissoon Road; and Maharaj Road were inherited by the Jhugroo descendants and subsequently sold to the people of Indian-origin who moved to Ottawa since the early 1920s.
Mr Gamson started work at a young age as a foreman at the former Development and Services Board. He worked for the local municipality until he retired at the age of 65. Gamson was also closely involved in the family business known as Ottawa Sand Supply. He also worked at Flash Clothing, which was owned by Mr S S Maharaj.
Mr Gamson married his wife, Doorpathy, in the 1950s and they lived in the Riet Rivier area before settling in the Ottawa village.
They had six children – three boys and three girls - Usha, who is now late; Meena; Jai; Vinay; Lilly and Beevash.
Meena, who lives in Shallcross, works for the Department of Justice in Pinetown; Jai, who lives with his family in Riverview Road in Ottawa works at South African Bureau of Standards (SABS); and Vinay, who also lives in Ottawa, is a businessman in Verulam. Lilly is an educator at the Verulam Secondary School and Beevash, who also lives in Ottawa, works for a chemical company.
According to Jai Munn, the Gamson children, like the rest of the Jhugroo descendants, have made great progress in their professional lives – all due to the hard work and sacrifices by Gamson and their mother, Doorpathy.
The five surviving children are involved in the educational, legal and business fields.
Like their parents and other members of the extended Jhugroo family, they are all also occupied in religious and community work in Ottawa and neighbouring towns.
Some of the organisations they play an active role in, include the 109-year-old Riet River Indre and Devi Pooja Sabha; Verulam Crematorium Trust; Verulam Deepavali Hamper Group; Jhugroo School Education Committee; Ottawa Civic and Ratepayers Association and the Verulam Diwali Hamper Group.
“What I can say very proudly is that the Jhugroo family made an enormous contribution for the education of the children of Ottawa and surrounding districts by donating the land for the primary school. Most of these people are now leaders, professionals and servants in their own fields,” says Jai Munn.
“The humanitarian path shown by our ancestors is now being following by the fourth and fifth generation descendants. They are all involved in local religious, cultural and community work.”
Jai Munn, who is a Marriage Officer and Commissioner of Oaths, says that their Jhugroo family ancestors were real pioneers in Ottawa.
“Our dad was a community leader in a number of community organisations and this has now been taken over by my brothers, Vinay, Beevash and myself. We are fully involved in several community organisations, including the Deepavali Hamper Group and the Ottawa Satsung/Arya Samaj.”
Mr Gamson Munn, just before he passed on in 2021 when he was 86-years-old, had a visit from Ismail Hans at his home in Riverview Road. Gamson and Ismail, who was also in his late 80s and living in the Uplands area, were the oldest pioneer residents of Ottawa at this time.
- Ends Sept 21 2022 – Updated Dec 1 2023 subrygovender@gmail.com
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