Statue of John De La Salle
The old shed built in 1872 was the only part of the old building that was still present . Michael had plans to demolish
Brother this old landmark and build a new one . With this in mind , on the occassion of the Prize Giving Day on 20th Jan . 1911 , Brother Michael told the large number of distinguished guests present , which included the Governor , Sir Arthur Young , that the building , build in 1872 , was extremely unsafe and must be replaced by a ferro-concrete structure . The new building would then serve the dual purpose of a hall and gymnasium with a chapel over it . The existing chapel could then be converted and divided into rooms for the Brothers . Most of his audience were very skeptical of Brother Michael ' s proposed plan , believing that his project could never materialise since contributions m ~ ght not be forth-coming particularly at a time when most of the people had already donated to the recently completed verandah around June 1910 .
However , despite this initial setback and obvious lack of response , Brother Michael was determined to succeed in his plans . It was estimated that the entire project ( excludinq the flooring , ceiling and the windows which were all donated ) would cost $ 19,000 . This was indeed a substantial sum to raise and was certainly no easy task , especially when subscription to the King
Edward ' s Memorial Fund was also about to begin . Nevertheless , the Straits Government g " avea grant of $ 7,000 towards the hall , the pupils of the school raised $ 2,107 and subscriptions from other donors and well wishers brought in $ 7,950 . Work on the new building commenced on 28th July 1911 and it was completed in less than a year .
As part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of St . Joseph ' s Institution , the new hall and chapel was officially declared opened by the Governor , Sir Arthur Young on 23rd September 1912 . After witnessing a splendid concert put up by the students , Sir Arthur Young praised the
36