Teluk Intan, March 2024

After visiting Melaka (in August) and Seremban (in September), Aric and I made another overnight trip, this time to Teluk Intan. We visited the town in 2014, see Journal 5-10-2014 and had seen all points of interest. This time it was a convenient place to stay overnight and visit a few other attractions in the neighbourhood. Our program had three targets:

  • The Elephant Memorial
  • The Pasir Salak historical complex
  • The grave of J.W.W. Birch

We started our trip on a Friday afternoon and reached Teluk Intan in about two hours. Before checking in at the Rick Resort, we first visited the Elephant Memorial. In 1894 there was an accident where an elephant attacked a train to protect its herd. The train derailed, the elephant died.

A memorial has been erected at the location where it happened. A signboard beside the road tells you where the trail starts and gives a description of the accident. It’s not much of a trail, but a very a short one. Not many people visit this place.

Here is the memorial.

The railway between Tapah Road and Teluk Intan opened in 1893 and closed in 1989. The tracks have been dismantled, but the railway bridge across the Bidor river is still there, now used for bike traffic. The map shows Teluk Intan in the 1940s when the railway was still operational. In the other picture the remains from a pedestrian walkway next to the railway are still visible.

Not far from the bridge we found this attractive mural. I am not happy with the proliferation of murals all over Malaysia, but this one is very appropriate and well-done.

We had booked a room in Rick resort. Our room was not large but had the luxury of a private jacuzzi.

After a short rest we went out again for dinner. There is not much special food in Teluk Intan, but we found a nice family-run Char Koay Teow stall, just along the road. Traditional preparation, using charcoal.

The main attraction of Teluk Intan is the leaning tower. It was brightly lit and many families were enjoying the evening. We spent quite some time there. Aric is trying to tilt the tower a bit more.

He had brought his drone.

The resort was also nicely illuminated. I enjoyed the jacuzzi with a beer.

The next morning we checked out and went to the town center for our breakfast. The Maharani hawker center is located on both sides of the street.

We had Ying Yong Glutinous Rice with Char Siew and Curry Chicken.. Interesting, but a bit heavy for breakfast. The stall owner was willing to pose with his food.

We had a look at the nearby Guong Dong temple, dedicated to Guan Yin (seated in the center). The deity is Caishen, the god of wealth, an important deity for Chinese 😉

Then it was time for the main challenge of this trip, finding the grave of Birch. I had found a webpage created in 2019, Jejak Sejarah: Menjejaki Kubur JWW Birch with a map. And Sabri Zain visited the graves about ten years ago, here is his report: Perak Expedition: Bandar Bahru. He gave me clear instructions how to reach the graves. Here is the map of the region with Sabri’s route in green and the 2019 one in red.

We decided to try Sabri’s route first (the green one). The plantation road was in reasonable condition, but very overgrown, scratching our car so much, that we turned back halfway. Then Aric got the brilliant idea, why don’t we walk to the graves. He had noted that a minor road comes quite close to the graves and that on Google Earth it looks like a vague trail is going in the right direction..

We found the trail location and parked the car there. It was actually a cattle trail, we had to walk carefully to avoid the cow dung, but it was not more than a 700 m hike before we reached the graves.

I found it quite impressive, so in the middle of nowhere.

The grave of Birch is in the center. Left of his grave is the grave of Innes, who died a few days later during a failed attack on Pasir Salak. According to Sabri Zain the other three graves are of a British private, a Sepoy and a Malay scout. I may write a separate post about the killing of Birch and the hectic weeks that followed.

Aric used his drone to take aerial pictures of the cemetery and the nearby majestic Perak river.

We walked back to the car and continued our trip to the Historical Center of Pasir Salak. When we arrived we were the only visitors, later a Malay group arrived. I had visited the center long ago and was not impressed. The architecture of the complex is nice, maybe a bit over the top. There are two monuments about what actually happened here. And there is a Time Tunnel as main attraction.

But the concept of Bumi Pahlawan Melayu (Land of the Malay warriors) which you see displayed everywhere in the complex is not appropriate, in my opinion. It suggest a continuous struggle for independence, from the Melaka sultanate until the formation of UMNO. It would have been better to concentrate on British colonialism.

The time tunnel is actually quite well done. I remember a “primitive” version when i visited the first time, dioramas depicting the various phases of “Ketuanan Melayu“. Now it is more high-tech and more balanced. Officially not allowed to take photos, but I could not resist the temptation. The Pangkor Treaty (1874) and the hanging of Birch’s killers in Matang (1876).

Here are the two monuments near the actual location where Birch was speared (while taking a bath in the river!). A British one (for Birch) and a Malaysian one (for his killers). The cannon is a so-called Rentaka, a bronze cannon, used by the Malays during the fighting.

Pasir Salak was the home base of Maharaja Lela, he had his stronghold there. In the picture you see a replica, but already ruined.

After this visit we drove back to Teluk Intan for lunch. The town may not be a haven for foodies, but there is one famous speciality, Liew Kee’s Chee Cheong Fun. Prepared with a variety of herbs, without a sauce. Aric bought 27 packs (at RM 8 per pack) to distribute them among family and friends ;-).

The shop has only limited seating capacity, so we went to the Glutton (!) Square Food court, where we ordered ABC and had a pack of CCF. Both delicious.

Before driving back to KL, we had a look at three more or less ruined buildings, indicated on this Google Earth map of Teluk Intan. The former palace of the Raja Muda, the Old Police Station and the Woo Choy Mansion. Also marked the Elephant Memorial, the Railway bridge and our resort.

In 2014 I had also taken pictures of these three buildings and I was curious how much they had deteriorated since then. As you can see, not much difference, the Palace (1922) and Police Station (1882) more overgrown with trees and bushes. The mansion was built in 1918 by “towkay” Woo Choy. It is private property, not inhabited but apparently well maintained.

All three properties were thoroughly fenced, no trespassing possible, a big difference with Taiping.

The entrance of the mansion is from Jalan Speedy. You wonder why Captain Speedy is honoured in Teluk Intan? You can find the answer in my blog post In Defense of Captain Speedy 😉

It was a very successful trip.

The Battle of Kota Lama (edited)

When J.W.W Birch, the British Resident of Perak, was murdered by the Malay nobility on 2 November 1875 in Pasir Salak, it was of course clear that the British Empire had to hit back. The result was the Perak War. Not a real war, more a series of skirmishes. The Colonial Office just wanted to catch the people responsible for the killing (and of course also show its strength). In July 1876 the last perpetrators were caught or surrendered. In December the trial took place in the fort of Ngah Ibrahim and in January 1877 three of them, Maharaja Lela, Dato’ Sagor and Pandak Indut, were hanged in Matang.

Two years later British explorer Isabella Bird arrives in the Malay peninsula and writes a fascinating travelogue The Golden Chersonese And The Way Thither about her visit. I am a big fan and have written a post about her, Isabella BIrd & Taiping. When she arrives 16 February 1879 in Kuala Kangsar to meet the Resident Hugh Low, he is not yet back home. His Sinhalese clerk suggests that she could make a trip (by elephant) the next day to a nearby village. He says “”I’m going to take you to Koto-lamah; no European has been there since the war. I’ve never been there, nor the Resident either.” Read my blog about her adventure. Or even better, read letter XX from her book as she writes very well.

Kota Lama (as it is spelled nowadays), is a small village , a few km north of Kuala Kangsar. Wikipedia in its article about the Perak War mentions very briefly the Battle of Kota Lama Kanan .

I am also a fan of Captain Speedy and have read Gulick’s monograph Captain Speedy of Larut (1953). Speedy took part in the Kota Lama expedition, here is what Gulick wrote about it (page 71):

On 4 January 1876 troops of Ross’s column moved into the two halves of Kota Lama, which straddled the Perak River. Speedy, despite his differences with Ross, was in charge of the political side of the operation. He called on the inhabitants to surrender their arms and the troops then began a home-to-house search. At first there was no resistance and the British relaxed their watchfulness. Ross and a group of headquarters staff officers came up to watch the search. They were attacked by a party of Malays. There was a short but exciting melee in which Ross’s Brigade Major was killed. The attackers were quickly driven off.

In August 2020 I visited Kota Lama Kanan, now a peaceful kampung. Kota Lama Kiri is on the other side of the Perak River. A cannon is the only remnant of the battle.

Until a few weeks ago this was what I knew about the Battle of Kota Lama. Then Marianne Pillai, a friend of mine with an interest in heritage, sent me a link to an article about Captain Speedy, published in the Singapore Daily Times of 17 April 1878. Speedy, after years of being thwarted by the Straits Government had, had finally resigned and left the Malay Peninsula in December 1877. The article is a fierce defence of Captain Speedy. Here is the article outlined in red.

Not easy to read, I converted the text into a readable format and wrote a separate post about it : In defense of Captain Speedy where I also add some comments.

The description in the article does not differ a lot from the one given by Gullick in his book, with a few exceptions. One of them is the description of the battle of Kota Lama. The description given by Gullick is short: Speedy is in charge of the political side of the operation. According to the article the situation is much more complicated.

Captain Speedy was actually against an attack on Kota Lama. They might be notorious people, cattle-stealers and robbers, but they had nothing to do with the killing of Birch. However, Brigadier General Ross, who was cross with Speedy (Gullick p 68-69), forced him to join the expedition.

The description of the expedition in the article is different from other reports I have seen. The main difference is that apparently there where TWO parts of Kota Lama, on both sides of the Perak river. Kota Lama Kiri on the left right bank and Kota Lama Kanan on the right left bank. (also nowadays there are two kampungs!). Therefore the British troops are split in two parts. Colonel Cox commanding the troops on the left bank with Maxwell as Commissioner, and Captain Speedy proceeding on the right bank.

Captain Speedy, not being one of the Commissioners, and having been telegraphed for the previous evening from Larut to participate in the proceedings, saw no alternative before him but to submit; and was desired by the Brigadier General to accompany the party who were to advance along the right bank of the river. The troops who proceeded to the village on the left bank, were commanded by Colonel Cox, accompanied by Mr. W.E. Maxwell, Asst. Queen’s Commissioner, and the course which was pursued was as follows.

Here is what happened in Kota Lama Kiri Kanan. A violent encounter! Gullick writes that Ross was disappointed not to have a fight. Might this fight have been provoked? The report below suggests it.

On our troops landing and advancing through the village, the Malays fled into the jungle, taking their arms with them, and it was then deemed advisable to put an end to the settlement by burning the village. Accordingly one or more of the houses were set fire to. Almost at the same time the General and his party landed, and one of the houses being soon after entered, it was discovered to be filled with the women of the village. These women being naturally alarmed began to scream, when the men who had been lying in ambush in the jungle, thinking their women were being insulted rushed in, and fired a volley upon our men, following this up by charging with their spears. In this skirmish the Brigade Major Hawkins, two Goorkhas, and some others met their deaths and one of the Queen’s Commissioners was carried of the field hors de combat although unwounded.

And here is what happened in Kota Lama Kanan Kiri. A peaceful solution, managed in a diplomatic way by Captain Speedy. “Not a shot was fired” ,

Meanwhile on the right bank of the river the scene presented an aspect of rather a different nature. Captain Speedy had requested to form a cordon with this men round the village. This being done, Captain Speedy, accompanied by a few men, entered the village and advance to the houses of the head men, and told them that the British Government demanded that they should deliver up their arms. To this they demurred, but Captain Speedy represented that as their village was surrounded, submission would be their wisest course, and he guaranteed that no harm should be done them were they to yield, and the men eventually submitted. Not a shot was fired, not a threat used, and no ill feeling whatever had been displayed on the part of the Malays; on the contrary a friendly feeling was at once established, and while waiting for the party on the other side of the river to complete their proceedings, Captain Speedy occupied his Kota Lama allies in getting them to show him how they had trained their monkeys to climb, and gather the fruit from the coconut palms.

The writer ends his report as follows:

Yet for this successful policy he from first to last received no word of approbation, or gracious acknowledgment; on the contrary, the unsuccessful leaders of the other party, evidently stung by jealousy and dissatisfaction, persistently declared on any reference to the event that the men on the right bank of the river were of a peaceable disposition, and not hostile to the Government, and that no difficulty was to have been expected with them. Captain Speedy’s name was, moreover, invariably suppressed in all letters regarding the Kota Lama attack, a fact in itself sufficiently significant of the petty feeling which prevented a fair statement of the facts.

Reading this report I was of course very surprised. What is the true story? I started searching the Internet for more information. Soon I found a webpage, created by Sabri Zain, titled The Battle of Kota Lama, part of a collection of web pages about The Perak Civil War. Here is the introduction of Sabri’s webpage

McNair’s book Perak and the Malays is available online and interesting to read. In chapter XXXII he describes the attack on Kota Lama. He took part in the expedition himself, as he was the Commissioner and Maxwell the Deputy-commissioner (p 384) Here are a few quotes from the chapter.

Kotah Lamah — a place that had long been noted as a resort for the worst characters, and freebooters of the vilest description

On the arrival of the troops at Qualla Kungsa these people were not openly hostile

... it was determined to disarm the people

… the demand for arms to be given up was acceded to on being made by Captain Speedy

.. armed men were seen rushing off, in two or three instances, to the jungle.

General Ross and his party landed at the middle of the village, and were searching the various houses to see that they contained none but women and children

… they were assailed by a body of fifty or sixty spear-armed Malays, who had been hidden amongst the trees.

Compare these quotes with Gullick’s description, They are quite similar, possibly because Gullick used McNair’s book. But why does McNair not mention that the troops proceeded on both sides of the Perak River?

I searched further and finally found what I was looking for in the London Gazette, the journal of the British government, where the official dispatches are published. I found two that are relevant to the topic of this blog (there may be more).

The first one is a dispatch in issue 24296 written by Brigadier-General Ross, while the second one, in issue 24298, has been written by by Edmund.Garforth, the Commander of the Naval Brigade attached to the Laroot Field Force. Both dated 5 January 1876, one day after the battle. Here are the two dispatches, click on them to open the link where you can enlarge the image to make it readable. Garforth’s dispatch (right) starts actually on page 4 of the 24298 issue.

Here are a few quotes from the report by Ross, with my comments.

For long this village has -been the haunt of all the worst disposed and turbulent Malays. The Queen’s Commissioner, deeming it necessary to disarm the inhabitants and to destroy the houses of certain known leaders, I made the following arrangements.

The village is Kota Lama. From the start of the expedition the target was clear: punish the village and destroy it.

The village of Kota Lama is on the left bank of the river. Lieutenant-Colonel Cox crossed
with his party in boats, and moved up the bank a little more than a mile, when he extended the men, the left of the line keeping close to the river, and skirmished through the village.
Mr. Maxwell, Deputy-Commissioner, accompanied Lieutenant-Colonel Cox
.

Captain Young moved his party in a similar manner up the right bank, to a village of the same name; his orders were to collect any arms, but not to destroy or injure houses or property, as the inhabitants have been well disposed. Captain Speedy, Assistant – Commissioner, accompanied Captain Young.

Here is finally the true situation, there were two parties proceeding to the two parts of Kota Lama, left (kiri) and right (kanan). One led by Cox with Maxwell, the Deputy-commissioner, the other one led by Young and Speedy. Ross mistakenly writes that Speedy was the Assistant-Commissioner. But he was not a Commissioner , he was the Assistant-Resident of Larut! McNair and Maxwell were the two Commissioners

The people of Kota Lama Kiri Kanan are bad, the people of Kota Lama Kanan Kiri are “well disposed”. Does that make sense?

Major McNair, I, and my staff went with Captain Garforth’s party of the Naval Brigade. We landed on the left bank just above the village, and, leaving a few blue jackets in charge of the boats, we moved in the direction of the village, expecting there to find Lieutenant-Colonel Cox’s party.

So there were actually three parties. Ross himself with Garforth’s men, came by boat. Accompanied by McNair, the Commissioner.

… after about an hour and a half we came upon several houses .close to each other, the largest being occupied by women and children. It being necessary to ascertain whether any men also were in it, Major McNair sent in two of his Malay followers, and himself looked in. After satisfying himself that there were only women and children, he had just got down from the steps, telling those inside not to be alarmed as they would not be harmed, when we heard several shots, and from a jungle close by some 50 Malays rushed out upon us, a few with fire-arms and the rest with spears.

According to the newspaper article, the women started screaming, the men rushed out of the jungle to their rescue and the fight started. Doesn’t that make more sense?

The report by Edmund.Garforth is basically the same.

… at daylight on the 4th January, the following forces, under Brigadier-General Ross, left Qualla Kandsor for a village called Koto-lama, on the left bank of the Perak River, distant three miles.

Kota-lama is the village that the late Mr. Birch was stopped at by an armed force, and for some time has been harbouring the worst characters in this part of the country, and it was the intention to destroy the houses belonging to these men.

Again, from the start it was already the intention to destroy the village, “to teach them a lesson”

A portion of the force was marched up on both banks of the river, two villages being opposite one another, of the same name ; the one on the right bank was only to be searched for arms.

“Only searched for arms” because they were basically good people? It just doesn’t make sense. In the newspaper narrative Speedy’s diplomatic approach does. Speedy is not even mentioned in Garforth’s report.

Having landed with the Naval Brigade and rocket (leaving sufficient men to guard the boats), I was requested by the Brigadier-General commanding to search some houses for arms, which having accomplished I came up with him and his staff at the house of one of the chiefs, about 11. A.M.

In the report by Ross it is McNair who does the searching, telling the women not to worry.

About five minutes after this fifty or sixty armed Malays, who had evidently been hidden in the bush (which was very thick), made a sudden and most determined attack on our party. I had previous to this formed the Blue Jackets up as a guard to the Brigadier-General. The enemy immediately came to close quarters, using their fire-arms and spears, the latter with great effect.

According to Gullick (p 68) Ross was unhappy that there had not been any fight, blaming Speedy for the delay in reaching Kuala Kangsar from Larut. Now he gets his fight!

The two dispatches fit perfectly with the report in the Singapore Daily Times

My conclusions:

In my opinion the article in the Singapore Daily Times, based on the Pinang Gazette, is the most accurate description of what happened on the 4th of January 1876. There has never been a battle of Kota Lama Kanan Kiri, thanks to Captain Speedy’s diplomacy. The battle of Kota Lama Kiri Kanan may have been provoked by the British colonial powers.

Of course the intriguing question remains, who wrote the four articles in the Pinang Gazette? The details about what happened in Kota Lama Kanan Kiri, especially that the locals showed Speedy how they had trained monkeys to gather coconuts from the trees, suggest an eyewitness.

Left and Right

  • Isabella Bird crosses the river to reach the village where no European had been since the war.
  • Ross writes in his report, that Cox crosses the river in boats to reach the village.

In defense of Captain Speedy

NewspaperSG is an online digital archive of over 200 Singapore and Malaya newspapers published since 1831. It has a very useful search option, which I have been using regularly, see for example my post about Menggelumchor.

The 17 April 1878 issue of the Singapore Daily Times contains a long article about Captain Speedy who had left the Malay peninsula a few months earlier. I have marked the article below in red color.

The anonymous writer refers to 4 articles from the Pinang Gazette And Straits Chronicle. The NewspaperSG archive has a few volumes of the Pinang Gazette, but not from 1878, so the writer of the original articles is unfortunately also unknown.

Here is the article, split in parts. When you click on it, you will see that it is just readable but not easy.

That’s why I have converted the text into a more readable form below. Here it is, in blue italic. In between I have added my comments

The Pinang Gazette contains in of some of its recent issues a series of articles, four in number, giving what profess to be authentic details respecting Captain Speedy’s connection with Perak from the date of his taking service with the Mantri of Larut till his resignation on the 31st December last.

In 1953 the orientalist J.M. Gullick published a well-documented monograph about Captain Speedy: Captain Speedy of Larut ,covering the same period (and more). It is available online and very readable.

The object of the writer is to expose what he considers to be the unworthy treatment of Captain Speedy by the Straits Government and the Colonial Office. No startling revelations are made, but some details are given, a brief summary of which may be interesting as a piece of local history relative to the Native States.

The setting is clear, the writer of the articles is critical of the way Captain Speedy has been treated by the Government of the Straits Settlements and the Colonial Office.

Captain Speedy formerly served in H.M. 18th Regiment, and, during the Abyssinian Expedition, in 1867, acted as Interpreter to the forces on the staff of the Commanding General, Sir Robert Napier, now Lord Napier of Magdala. After the war he was appointed guardian or tutor of King Theodore’s son, Prince Alameida, and in 1868 he came out to Penang as Commissioner of Police.

The dates are incorrect. Captain Speedy arrived in Penang in 1871 where he became Superintendent of Police. And he did not resign in July of that year, but in 1873.

In July of that year he resigned that appointment and entered the service of the since notorious Mantri of Larut, upon an arrangement drawn up in due legal form, to the effect that in return for services rendered, Captain Speedy was to receive $500 a month, or £1,200 a year, and a tenth of all the revenues of Larut, for the period of ten years. As the revenues of Larut in 1874 and 1875, averaged about $200,000 a year, Captain Speedy’s tenth would amount to $20,000 or £4,000, which would have given him an income of over £5,000 a year, had his agreement held, and had not Sir Andrew Clarke interfered in the affairs of Perak.

The interference of Sir Andrew Clarke -> the Pangkor Treaty (January 1874)

The service which Captain Speedy undertook to perform was nothing less than to quell the disturbances of the Chinese factions among the tin miners, the See Quans and the Goh Quans, who fought each other for the possession of certain tin mines and the water supply, and had desolated the country as well as put an entire stop to trade. The Mantri himself, having supported the Goh Quans against the See Quans, and the former having been defeated, was obliged by the victorious See Quans to fly the country and take refuge in Penang.

The whole tin producing land of Larut covers a space of about 50 square miles, and the mines in dispute occupied an area of more than four square miles, their annual product being upwards of 2,600 tons. There is no doubt that Captain Speedy would have effected his object had he not been interfered with, and it is possible enough he might have become the virtual ruler of Larut, if not the whole of Perak.

“He might have become the virtual ruler of Larut” The writer is obviously a staunch supporter of Captain Speedy.

But his proceedings are said to have been viewed with disfavour and suspicion by the Penang Government, which gets the credit of doing all in its power to thwart him, and is accused of planning his arrest as an outlaw and on a charge of high treason.

Captain Speedy’s plan for restoring order and the authority of the Mantri of Larut was to enlist a disciplined body of 200 armed Sikhs for service in the country as Policemen. For this purpose, he proceeded to India in August 1873, and with much trouble and difficulty he succeeded, after six weeks of hard work, in securing, principally from the North West Provinces of India, upwards of 200 men, whom he engaged to accompany him to Larut, and whom he brought down to Calcutta.

According to Gullick (page 34) the Straights Government had notified the Government of India that Speedy was allowed to bring sepoys to Larut

Here, however, reports, promulgated it is said by Penang Officials from spite and jealousy, reached the ears of the men that Captain Speedy’s proceedings were illegal and would be opposed by the Government. The consequence was that half of them deserted or refused to fulfill their engagement, and demanded their traveling expenses back to their villages. About one hundred of them however remained staunch, and with these Captain Speedy embarked for Penang on board of one of Apcar’s steamers toward the end of September 1873.

Gullick (page 33-34) writes differently, that Anson, the Lieutenant-Governor of Penang, actually supported Speedy’s mission to India. No mention that half of the men deserted, Gullick calls it a rumour that more than about 100 men were planning to follow

On his arrival in Penang harbour he was warned by Mr, R.C. Woods, the Mantri’s lawyer, not to land, as it was possible a warrant might be issued against him on a charge of waging war against an ally of Her Majesty’s, and accordingly he started at once for Larut with the men in a small steamer belonging to the Mantri, being accompanied by Mrs Speedy and his brother.

Gullick also writes that Soeedy did not land in Penang but continued to Larut. However, there is no mention at all of a possible warrant or arrest, had he landed in Penang.

On arriving in Larut, Captain Speedy advised the Mantri to send a letter to the Chinese faction hostile to him, offering to reinstate them in their mines if they laid down their arms and gave security for their future good behaviour. No reply was received, and, after a delay of two months, active measures were taken,

Gullick doesn’t mention this act of diplomacy by Speedy

Captain Speedy advanced from his head-quarters, at Bukit Gantang, with two-thirds of his force and two six-pounder Krupp guns against a stockade 14 miles distant. This and four others were taken with ease in the course of a fortnight, and there remained only two more in the hands of the enemy. One was at Matang, the port of Larut river, and the other at Simpang, two and a half miles inland, and both were rather formidable from their position.

Captain Speedy was making his preparations for attack, when he was checked by the arrival early in January of Captain Grant, H.M.S. Aron, and Mr. F.A. Swettenham, with Mr. R.C. Woods, from Penang, with a message from Sir Andrew Clarke asking for a ten days’ truce and informing him of the new Government’s intention to take the settlement of affairs in Larut and in Perak in hand himself.

There followed the famous Pangkore Treaty, which altered all Captain Speedy’s arrangements and projects. He was offered the appointment of Resident of Larut, and to act temporarily as Resident of Perak on a salary of £2,000 a year. This he declined until he was requested by the Mantri to take the appointment. He did so, however, very reluctantly, for the appointment was altogether different as regards pay, status and influence to the one he had contemplated in the service of the Mantri.

Gullick (p 38) doesn’t discuss this refusal and reluctant acceptance , but he mentions that the £2,000 a year caused irritation with the government officials in Singapore, as it was much more than they got.

It is claimed for Captain Speedy, however, that he took to the duties of his new post with much zeal, and displayed much judgment and tact in his dealings with the natives, both Chinese and Malays, whose respect and confidence he succeeded in acquiring and keeping to the last from 1874 to December 1877. During the first two years of his administration, and up to the time he left in June 1876, on six months’ leave of absence, Larut flourished to a most surprising and unexpected extent. But it is alleged that he was all along treated in a jealous and unfriendly spirit by Straits Officials from the Governor downwards. One or two instances are given of his treatment by Sir William Jervois, and the following may be quoted:

According to the writer Speedy is doing very well in Larut, but is treated badly by the Straits government and especially by William Jervois (who succeeded Clarke as Straits Governor). Two examples are given. In the first one, Speedy acted professionally but still was reprimanded “in terms of the curtest nature”

–Almost at the commencement of the Perak expedition, before any active measures had been taken, Captain Speedy received a letter from the Ex-Sultan Ismail, asking his advice, as to whether he should attempt opposition to the British troops or offer the Government his services. Seeing at once that a communication of this kind should be forwarded without comment to head quarters, Captain Speedy without replying enclosed the letter to Sir William Jervois and shortly afterwards received an answer cached in terms of the curtest nature to the effect that he was never at any time, to hold communication with the native chiefs but to forward all such despatches direct to the Government.

The second example is a long, detailed report about the so-called battle of Kota Lama on 4 January 1876. Captain Speedy is against the attack on this village. They may be bad people but were not involved in the killing of BIrch.

– Again during the so called “war” — when it was determined by the Commissioners appointed for the time being, to attack the village of Kota Lama, on the Perak river, Captain Speedy’s advice that this attack should not take place was wholly disregarded, though he felt and represented strongly the extreme unjustice of the proceeding. He represented that the Kota Lama men were neutral, — that they had taken no part in the death of Mr. Birch, and that an attack on their village was quite uncalled for. The unblushing reply of the Commissioners was, that they were freebooters and turbulent, – that they had formerly been cattle stealers, and that it was desirable to give them a lesson.

The Kota Lama men had doubtless a reputation not undeserved, for a character, which as regarded their neighbours, was none of the most peaceable; but of any participation in the murder of Mr. Birch they were wholly blameless; and as the express object with which our troops were sent into the country, was to punish those murderers, and proclamations had been issued by the Government to the effect that the inhabitants who remained quiet had nothing to fear, by what right the Commissioners reconciled it to their conscience to attack Kota Lama can perhaps be only explained by themselves.

“… by what right the Commissioners reconciled it to their conscience to attack Kota Lama can perhaps be only explained by themselves”. It is clear that the writer agrees with Captain Speedy.

The following paragraph casts a rather negative light on the character of W.E. Maxwell, who succeeded Speedy as Assistant Resident of Larut.

A circumstance had, moreover, shortly before occurred, which was but calculated to inspire feelings the reverse of conciliatory toward the British in the eyes of these men. The Assistant Queen’s Commissioner, Mr. W.E. Maxwell, had, some days previous, gone up the river to a village a few miles north of Kota Lama, in search of a man named Rajah Abbas, who had about 4 years previously broken jail from Penang, and who Mr. Maxwell had reason to believe was living at the house of a Malay named Anjong. On reaching Anjong’s house, however, he found that Abbas had left a few days before. He then enquired of Anjong if he had given him any shelter and the man replied in the affirmative, saying that Abbas had come to his house and remained there for a few days. Hearing this Mr. Maxwell at once decreed Anjong to be worthy of death, and ordered him to be executed. Accordingly he was hanged then and there! to the nearest tree by the men of the Naval Brigade who acted as Mr. Maxwell’s escort.

Here is the description of the battle. It is so different from the “official” narrative, for example Gullick (page 71) that I have written a separate post about the Battle of Kota Lama. This “novel point of view” I have given a different color.

The attack on Kota Lama and Captain Speedy’s proceedings thereat are described as follows, and the description presents that ill-managed affair from a novel point of view.

Here is the conclusion of the writer. Speedy did not get any words of gracious acknowledgment and in the official reports his successful actions were suppressed or downplayed

Yet for this successful policy he from first to last received no word of approbation, or gracious acknowledgment; on the contrary, the unsuccessful leaders of the other party, evidently stung by jealousy and dissatisfaction, persistently declared on any reference to the event that the men on the right bank of the river were of a peaceable disposition, and not hostile to the Government, and that no difficulty was to have been expected with them. Captain Speedy’s name was, moreover, invariably suppressed in all letters regarding the Kota Lama attack, a fact in itself sufficiently significant of the petty feeling which prevented a fair statement of the facts.

But neither time nor space would allow us here to enumerate the repeated instances in which the same spirit of narrow minded jealousy was allowed to militate against him.

A few more examples of the way Captain Speedy was badly treated:

Upon the appointment of Mr. Birch as Resident of Perak towards the close of 1874, Captain Speedy was definitely appointed ” H.B.M Assistant Resident of Perak attached to the district of Larut” with a salary of £1500 a year, and Lord Carnarvon promised to confirm the appointment but this promise was not fulfilled.

In July 1876, Lord Carnarvon recommended him for the appointment of Resident of Perak in succession to Mr, Birch, and asked for Sir William Jervois’ advice on the subject, but Sir William merely replied that he did not think him qualified.

In October 1876, when in England and on the point of returning from leave, Captain Speedy received a letter from the Colonial Office stating that his salary was to be reduced from £1,500 to £750 per annum, and he was told to judge whether it would be worth his while to return. This was a plain hint not to return to the East, but Captain Speedy returned nevertheless.

The Straits Governor William Jervois was the most negative in his opinion about Captain Speedy. That is also Gullick’s conclusion

On his arrival in Penang he received a message from Sir William Jervois to go to Singapore and the first thing said to him by Sir William was “Why he had returned, because he had telegraphed home to stop him”. He was then told that the appointment of Assistant Resident at Laroot was to be abolished, as Mr Paul held the title of Assistant Resident of Perak, having been appointed in the beginning of 1876, and that the only feasible plan was to send him to Durian Saba tang as Superintendent and Magistrate.

Ultimately, Captain Speedy returned to Larut on a salary of £1.000 a year, but in the course of two months and a half he was officially informed that his salary was again to be reduced to £850,and that he was to proceed from Larut to the swamp of Durian Sabatang.

Durian Sebatang is now Teluk Intan.

It is alleged that this last measure was adopted in pursuance of the settled policy of the Government Officials in the Straits Settlements since the departure of Sir Andrew Clarke, to drive him out of the service, in the hope that it would be finally successful.

And it was so eventually, Captain Speedy obeyed the order, but, after ten months’ residence at Durian Sabatang, he determined to resign, and at the end of 1877, he left Perak probably for ever.

Such is a condensed account of the authentic facts relating to Captain Speedy’s connection with the sate of Perak published in the Penang Gazette. The story is not a pretty one but we can offer no opinion upon it without having heard the other side

Is this the conclusion of the Singapore writer or the Penang one? Really a pity that the relevant records of the Pinang Gazette have not been preserved.

Did Amelia Earhart land in Taiping?

In September 2019 I published two blog posts about Amelia Earhart, the American aviator, who flew over present-day Malaysia from Bangkok to Singapore on 20 June 1937. A mural had been created in Taiping, honoring her landing on 20 June at the Taiping Aerodrome for a refueling stop.

In my two reports, Amelia Earhart and Taiping and Amelia and Taiping (Part Two) I showed that Amelia Earhart never landed at the Taiping Aerodrome and not even had the intention to do so. I shared these reports with the Taiping Heritage Society (THS). Lukewarm response, no follow-up. A few months ago the Perak Heritage Society came into action: “She Never landed in Malaysia”  Amelia Earhart Mural In Taiping Puzzles Locals It will be interesting to see if now something will happen.

Here is a bit more information about how the confusion started./

In 2007 a Wikipedia contributor, Andrew Kidman, starts a topic Taiping Airport. He adds content in the following years, for example on 1 February 2009 :

” … The airport also achieved fame through the famous American aviator, Amelia Mary Earhart in 1937, when she was doing her world flight and stopover at the Taiping Airport for refueling petrol. Amelia Earhart was doing her flight route from Thailand to Singapore, her permission to land at Taiping Airport was allowed on 7 June 1937 by the then Resident-General of Malaya….”

The second sentence is correct, the first one is his own conclusion and erroneous. His last edit of Taping Airport was in April 2009, he is not active anymore, I have tried to contact him, without success.

Yes, Amelia Earhart received a letter on 7 June that she was permitted to land at the Taiping Areodrome. Does that make Taiping at least a bit special? To make clear that this was mot the case, we must keep in mind that in 1937 Malaysia did not exist, it was British Malaya, consisting of the Straits Settlements , the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States, Crossing the airspace of British Malaya, Amelia needed several authorizations. In my second blog copies of these letters are shown. Each gives authorization for a specific period (‘in or about June’) and mentions the airports where she is permitted to land. Here is the list, with date of the authorization letter and the airports. Kedah and Johore were unfederated states and had to give authorization separately.

  • 15 June Straits Settlements (Penang, Singapore)
  • .7 June FMS (Taiping)
  • 17 June Kedah (Alor Star)
  • 17 June Johore (Batu Pahat)

Taiping was just one of the five airports where she was allowed to land. But she did not , as is clear from the book Last Flight. In her report she mentions a few times Alor Star (We checked over Alor Star airport but did not stop, and headed for Singapore)

Amelia Earhart never landed in Taiping and had no intention to do so

Victoria Trip 2015

During our visit to Pat and Roger in 2015 we went with them on a 5D4N trip in the state of Victoria. First Roger took us to the Organ Pipes National Park. The “organ pipes” are basalt columns, their origin is volcanic and they are 2.5-2.8 million year old.

After lunch in the small town of Woodend we continued to Bendigo where we stayed overnight. In the 1850s gold was found here and Bendigo became a boomtown, attracting gold-diggers from everywhere. There is a goldmine that can be visited and there are numerous imposing buildings in Victorian style. A very pleasant town. This is Pall Mall, the main street. Left the War Memorial, in the middle the former Post Office and to the right, behind the trees, the Shamrock Hotel.

Many buildings are in the (Victorian) Second Empire style. From left to right the former Post Office (1883-1887), the Town Hall (1878-1902) and the Law Courts (1892-1896). Impressive architecture.

The monumental Shamrock Hotel began in 1856 but was several times rebuilt, until the final version in 1907.

Just a few more architecture pictures.

The Rosalind park was where the goldrush started in 1851. It has been a Government Camp before it became a park.

The Alexandra Fountain is located at the entrance of the park and was designed by William Vahland, the main architect of Bendigo in those days. A poppet head is a frame at the top of a mineshaft, supporting pulleys for the ropes used in hoisting . This poppet head comes from a different gold mine and is now a lookout.

The Sacred Heart Cathedral is unusually large for a small town. Construction started in 1897, in Gothic Revival style, but was completed only in 1977.

We had dinner in the Wine Bank on View, a favourite of Roger. It is a wine bar and wine merchant.

They also serve delicious food.

Starters.

We moved inside for the main course.

The next morning Aric and I visited the Central Deborah gold mine, now no longer active and a major tourist attraction. We took the 85 metres: Underground Adventure excursion, very interesting. Overalls, boots, miner’s hat with lamp. A traditional miner’s lunch was served underground.

Various aspects of a miner’s life, changing room, showering, medical assistance.

Our guide explaining where we will go and the poppet head which will lower us down.

An ore deposit, where gold can be found.

Not easy to take pictures underground.

Lunch 85 meter underground.

Before we continued our trip, we visited the Chinese Joss House Temple (1871). During the gold rush many Chinese immigrants came to Victoria to work in the mines.

Our next destination was Echuca on the banks of the Murray river, where we stayed two nights. We had pizza for dinner.

The main attraction of Echuca are the paddleboats. Echuca was founded in 1850 and became fast a major inland port. Nowadays it is a major tourist attraction.

Paddleboats brought their cargo to the Echuca wharf where it was unloaded and transported by rail to Melbourne. The wharf is now Australian Heritage.

Of course we went for a trip, with the paddle steamer Pevensey. It was built in 1911, used to transport wool and still has its original steam engine.

Impressive machinery. Must be a tough job to be a stoker!

The interior of the Pevensey.

Two more paddle steamers. It was a very interesting excursion

In the afternoon we drove around Echuca and visited the Cape Horn Vineyard. The Echuca-Moama bridge dates from 1878, to reach the vineyard we had to cross the Stewart’s bridge (don’t worry, the new one is hidden behind the old wooden structure).

Roger is a wine connoisseur, I am just pretending 😉 .

Of course a day is not complete without drinks and food!

The next day we had a short stop at Kryabam , where we visited the former Town Hall (1895), now an art gallery. Just to prove that we are interested in more than food 😉 .

We continued to Rushworth, another goldrush town. Nice buildings , but not so spectacular as in Bendigo.

I had seen on the Internet that near Rushworth there was an old gold mine with a ghost town. I asked Roger if we could visit that place. He agreed but regretted it when it turned out that the access road was bad, causing some damage to his car. Fortunately Aric could repair it 😉 .

The Balaclava mine is an open-cast mine. The tunnels have been closed for safety reasons, so there is not much to explore.

The ghost town of Whroo is not much more than the cemetery. Hard to imagine that once the town had several churches , a school, a library and a few hotels.

We stayed overnight in a motel in Nagambie and had an al fresco dinner at the Nagambie lake.

A beautiful sunset!

The last day of our trip we visited Yea, another small town, with some interesting buildings. The Shire Hall is from 1877, the Grand Caledonian Hotel was built in 1901.

Yea was founded in 1855, because of the gold rush, but now it is primarily a farming and agriculture town.

The Yea Wetlands are worth a visit,

We had lunch in an heritage building, the E.S Purcell’s General Store (1877).

On our way back to Upwey, we had a stop at Yarra Glen for a drink in the Grand Hotel (1888).

It was a very rewarding trip. Amazing how much we could do in just a few days.

Isabella Bird & Taiping

In several earlier posts I have mentioned Isabella Bird, who visited Taiping in 1879. In this post I will describe in somewhat more detail the visit of this intrepid English traveller.

Isabella Bird was born in 1831. Already at a young age she was bitten by the travel bug. During her travels she wrote letters to her sister Henrietta in Edinburgh and these letters have been published in a number of books.

In 1878 she visits Japan (resulting in her book Unbeaten Tracks in Japan) and on her way back to England she spends a few weeks in Hong Kong. On 10 January 1879 she has a lunch with Chief Justice Snowden. In a letter to her sister she writes :

” .. he urges me to go to Malacca on my way home. I had never dreamed of the “Golden Chersonese;” but I am much inspired by his descriptions of the neighborhood of the Equator, and as he has lent me Newbold’s Malacca for the voyage, and has given me letters to the Governor and Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements, you will next hear from me from Singapore! “

On 18 January she arrives in Singapore where she is the guest of Cecil Smith, the Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements. She writes:

“I wonder how this unexpected and hastily planned expedition into the Malay States will turn out? It is so unlikely that the different arrangements will fit in. It seemed an event in the dim future; but yesterday my host sent up a “chit” from his office to say that a Chinese steamer is to sail for Malacca in a day or two, and would I like to go?”

She has only 5 minutes to decide. And of course she goes, always eager to escape from civilisation 😉 .

The two quotes above are from her book The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither , published in 1883. Left the original edition, right my own copy, a reprint from 2000. You can also read it online or download it to your tablet.

The Golden Chersonese is the ancient name for the Malay Peninsula. The book contains 23 letters, in the first seven chapters/letters she describes her visits to Hong Kong, Canton, Saigon and Singapore (the Way Thither).

I have read her book with admiration and fascination. What a remarkable lady.

Before I write about her travels, first a short description of the (political) situation in the Malay Peninsula during the seventies of the 19th century.

There were the Straits Settlements, a British Crown Colony consisting of Penang, Melaka ,Singapore ( and after 1874 the Dindings), and many independent Malay states. Several of them were in turmoil, for a variety of reasons, the Larut wars (1861-1874) in Perak , the Klang War (1867-1874) in Selangor, a Civil War (1873) in Sungei Ujong {present day Seremban). The result of the Pangkor Treaty (1874) was that Perak accepted a British Resident and soon Selangor and Sungei Ujong followed. The first Resident of Perak , J.W.W Birch, was murdered in November 1875, resulting in the Perak War (1875-1875) . Turbulent times.

And to give you an impression how unknown the peninsula was in those days, from 1875 until 1882 D.D. Daly, Superintendent of Public Works and Surveys, Selangor, surveyed the Malay peninsula with this map as one of the results. His report, presented to the Royal Geographic Society in 1882, is very readable.

On 19 January Isabella Bird leaves Singapore with the SS Rainbow. A small screw steamer with an interesting history. First owned by Rajah Brooke of Sarawak, later sold to the Government of the Straits Settlements and finally to Chinese merchants. Overloaded with about 150 people, she being the only “white man and Christian”, she lands the next day in Melaka “.. after a most pleasant voyage in a steamer one would have thought too bad to voyage in”.

Melaka was part of the Straits Settlement, a sleepy town ” .. the narrow stream and bridge, and the quaint red-tiled roofs of the town, is very charming and harmonious; yet I often think, if these dreamy days went on into months, that I should welcome an earthquake shock, or tornado .. ” She stays in the Stadthuys.

From Melaka she makes an adventurous trip to Sg Ujong, first with a steam launch to the mouth of the Linggi river, then in a perahu. Her description in letter XI is so fascinating that, many years ago, I followed by car, as close as possible, the Linggi river with a friend, from the river mouth to Seremban: Linggi adventure, 15-7-2008. Here I am standing near the river, no crocodiles or tigers anymore.

Isabella’s next destination is Selangor. On 1 February she arrives in Klang (“a most mistriven, decayed, dejected, miserable-looking place “). She stays in the Residency, makes a trip to Jugra to visit the Sultan and is clearly less happy then in Sg Ujong.

A few days later she sails to Penang aboard the Abdulsamad, the yacht of the Sultan, visiting Kuala Selangor and Sabba (Sabak Bernam) on the Bernam river on their way. She spends one night in the Hotel de l’Europe (nowadays part of the E&O hotel) and 10 February she crosses over to Province Wellesley, where in the evening the steamer Kinta arrives with W. E. Maxwell, the Assistant Resident of Perak. In his company two nice Malay boys, the sons of the exiled Sultan Abdullah who will go to Melaka for their education. This is the Kinta.

They leave at night and the next morning at 7 am they reach Teluk Kertang, in those days the main port of Taiping , (“.. with a pier, a long shed, two or three huts, and some officialism, white and partly white, all in a “dismal swamp”) Nowadays Teluk Kertang is a quiet kampong with several shipyards and charcoal kilns.

In gharries (horse-drawn carriages) they drive to the residency. In Permatang they pass “ … two very large two-storied Malay houses in some disrepair, in which the wife of the banished Mĕntri of Larut lives, with a number of slaves.  ” That must have been Kota Ngah Ibrahim. Of course it looks very different now.

It was here that in 1876 the trial of Birch’s murderers took place, resulting in the conviction and hanging of two Malay noblemen and the banishment of Sultan Abdullah and Ngah Ibrahim to the Seychelles. The Kota is now a museum, on the first floor you can see scenes of the trial.

They continue to Taiping: “From this point we drove along an excellent road toward the mountains …. and near noon entered this important Chinese town, with a street about a mile long, with large bazaars and shops making a fine appearance, … and on the top of a steep, isolated terraced hill, the British Residency“.  The green line in this Google Earth screenshot, is probably how she went from Teluk Kertang to the Residency.

Maxwell resided in what nowadays is the District Officer’s Residence, originally built by Captain Speedy.

It must have looked very different when Isabella Bird stayed there. In her description: “The Residency is large and lofty, and thoroughly draughty, a high commendation so near the equator. It consists of a room about thirty feet wide by sixty long, and about twenty feet high at its highest part, open at both ends, the front end a great bow window without glass opening on an immense veranda.

She stays a couple of days in the Residency and enjoys it very much. “The house on my side has a magnificent view of the beautiful Hijan hills, down which a waterfall tumbles in a broad sheet of foam only half a mile off, and which breed a rampageous fresh breeze for a great part of the day”. Here is the waterfall, a bit further away than she thought, one and a half mile away from the Residency.

She continues her description: “The front veranda looks down on Taipeng and other Chinese villages, on neat and prolific Chinese vegetable gardens, on pits, formerly tin mines, now full of muddy, stagnant water, on narrow, muddy rivulets bearing the wash of the tin mines to the Larut river”. Taiping as seen from the Residency may have looked like this. One year later, in 1880, the town was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in brick.

The food is simple and Maxwell is working all the time “There are two simple meals daily, with tea and bananas at 7 A.M., and afternoon tea at 5 P.M. Mr. Maxwell is most abstemious, and is energetically at work from an early hour in the morning

She is alone a lot , visits the town and enjoys the company of the two boys. “Those boys of Sultan Abdullah’s are the most amusing children I ever saw. They are nine and twelve years old, with monkey-like, irrepressible faces. They have no ballast. They talk ceaselessly, and are very playful and witty, but though a large sum is being paid for their education at Malacca, they speak atrocious “pidjun,” and never use Malayan, in my hearing at least”. Interesting detail, the two boys, Raja Chulan and Rajah Ngah Mansur were later involved in the creation of the Perak State Anthem.

During her stay she also visits a tin mine in Kamunting. She gives a detailed description of how a mine is working and is treated well by the Chinese owner of the mine who “..  had conveyed champagne, sherry, and bitter beer! His look of incredulity when we said that we preferred tea, was most amusing; but on our persisting, he produced delicious tea with Chinese sweetmeats, and Huntley and Palmer’s cocoa-nut biscuits” She must have loved food, mentions it often in her book!

She also wants to meet Hugh Low, the British Resident, who is residing in Kuala Kangsar, the royal capital of Perak. Kuala Kangsar is less than 25 km from Taiping, as the crow flies, But there are hills and mountains in between . Have a look at this enlarged details of the 1882 map. The only connection between Kuala Kangsar and Taiping was via the pass at Bukit Berapit, and there was no real road yet. The plan was that Isabella Bird would travel to Kuala Kangsar by elephant and a telegram had been sent that elephants should come to Taiping and meet her.

In the early morning of 14 February: “We had bananas and chocolate, and just at daybreak walked down the hill, where I got into a little trap drawn by a fiery little Sumatra pony, and driven by Mr. Gibbons, a worthy Australian miner who is here road-making, and was taken five miles to a place where the road becomes a quagmire not to be crossed”. This place must have been Changkat Jering, via Air Kuning about 6 miles from the Residency.

But the telegraph line was broken, and Maxwell who had accompanied her, was unable to find other elephants. “There was nothing for it but to walk, and we tramped for four miles. I could not have done the half of it had I not had my “mountain dress” on, the identical mud-colored tweed, in which I waded through the mud of Northern Japan. ” Actually she enjoys this walk tremendously, giving a vivid description of all the flowers, shrubs and trees she finds on her path.

Finally “After walking for four miles we came upon a glorious sight at a turn of the road, a small lake behind which the mountains rise forest-covered, with a slope at their feet on which stand the cocoa-nut groves, and the beautiful Malay house of the exiled Mĕntri of Larut” Nowadays the house and the lake don’t exist anymore, only the tombs of Long Jaafar, the father of Ngah Ibrahim.

Here she waits for the elephants to arrive, while being offered cocoa-nuts, buffalo milk and lotus seeds. She writes: “Beyond is the picturesque kampong of Matang, with many good houses and a mosque. Passing through a gateway with brick posts, we entered a large walled enclosure …. “ She makes a mistake here, it is not Matang but Bukit Gantang! There is still a mosque, a porch and remains of an enclosure. Of course not necessarily the same as mentioned by her 🙂

Finally her elephant arrives. The ways she describes the animal (a hideous beast) , the mounting ( I dropped into one of these baskets from the porch ), the driver ( a gossiping, careless fellow ), the riding (This mode of riding is not comfortable ), the unmounting ( letting myself down by a rattan rope upon the driver, who made a step of his back ) is so vivid and often hilarious, that I decided to combine all the passages about her elephant ride into a separate document, The first elephant ride of Isabella Bird

Although the ride is not comfortable, she enjoys the scenery (The pass of Bukit Berapit, seen in solitude on a glorious morning, is almost worth a journey round the world ) and the hospitality ( I clambered into a Malay dwelling of the poorer class, and was courteously received and regaled with bananas and buffalo milk) . Because the elephant is “unruly”, she walks the last few miles and has her first encounter with leeches (surprised to find that my boots were filled with blood, and on looking for the cause I found five small brown leeches, beautifully striped with yellow, firmly attached to my ankles. )

After ten hours of traveling she reaches Kuala Kangsar. “When the sun was low I looked down upon a broad and beautiful river, with hills and mountains on its farther side, a village on the shores of a promontory, and above that a grassy hill with a bungalow under cocoa-palms at its top, which I knew must be the Residency, from the scarlet uniforms at the door”.

Here is how she traveled from Taiping to Kuala Kangsar. Air Kuning and Changkat Jering are not mentioned in her book, but this seems to me the most probable route. In red the part she had to walk. The Perak river in blue

Here is her description of the Residency: …at the top of a steep slope the bungalow, which has a long flight of stairs under a latticed porch, leading to a broad and comfortably furnished veranda used as the Resident’s office and sitting-room, the centre part, which has a bed-room on each side of it and runs to the back of the house, serving for the eating-place. It is as unpretending a dwelling as can be. It keeps out the sun and rain, and gives all the comfort which is needed in this climate, but nothing more. Even simpler than the Residency in Taiping.

The Residency as described by Isabella is no more there. In 1885 Hugh Low rebuilt the Residency , there exists a picture of it. The right picture gives a view of Kuala Kangsar in the 1870s,

In 1905 the Residence was demolished to make place for the King’s Pavilion, accommodation for the British High Commissioner to the Federated Malay States . Now it houses a school.

When she arrives in the Residency, she finds out that “Mr. Low, the Resident, has not returned, and I am not only alone in his bungalow in the heart of the jungle, but so far as I can learn I am the only European in the region“. She is received by the butler, has a nice bath, unfortunately her valise has not yet arrived, so she is obliged to re-dress in her mud-splashed tweed dress. She is annoyed when she sees that dinner is prepared for three, as she is not in the mood for social conversation. But it turns out that the other two guests are Mahmoud and Eblis, the two pet apes of Hugh Low!

She is fascinated by these apes and writes so often about them in her letters that I have collected these passages in a separate document Isabella Bird and the apes of Hugh Low .

On the night of her arrival, the Sinhalese clark of Hugh Low suggests that she could make a trip the following day, this time riding the Royal elephant of the Sultan. “He is such a height (they say ten feet!) that, though he lay down to be mounted, a good-sized ladder was needed for the climb upon his back”. They ride in the jungle for seven hours on the left bank of the Perak river, passing several Malay kampongs. She enjoys everything, almost intoxicated by the beauty of the flowers, the butterflies, the majestic trees. After several hours they arrive at a kampong where they dismount for lunch,  “looking out from deep shadow down upon the beautiful river lying in the glory of the noonday sun, its banks bright with birds and butterflies”.

The locals tell her guide that it is possible to ford the Perak river. “The mahout said that the elephant was a “diver,” and would probably dive, but that there was no danger to us except of getting very wet” She likes the idea of crossing the river to the other side and doesn’t mind getting wet. So they go: “the elephant gently dropped down and was entirely submerged, moving majestically along, with not a bit of his huge bulk visible, the end of his proboscis far ahead, writhing and coiling like a water snake every now and then.”

After crossing the Perak river (and getting wet), Low’s clark says “”I’m going to take you to Koto-lamah; no European has been there since the war. I’ve never been there, nor the Resident either.”

The war he is talking about is the Perak war and it was in Kota Lama that the decisive battle between the British army and the warriors of Maharaja Lela took place: The Battle of Kota Lama Kanan. That was on 4 January 1876, just three years before Isabella’s visit! While crossing the river, her guide says “A few months ago they would have been firing at us from both sides of the river “

I have visited Kota Lama Kanan recently . Very peaceful and rural, difficult to imagine that a battle took place here. But at the mosque we found a cannon, the caretaker told us that it is one of the two cannons used in the battle. From the mosque you can walk down to the river. It doesn’t look very fordable here.

The reception of Isabella in Kota Lama Kanan is not unfriendly, although many men are armed with parangs, spears and even muskets and one of the woman she meets is the widow of Maharaja Lela! “However, though as a Briton I could not have been a welcome visitor, they sent a monkey for two cocoa-nuts, and gave me their delicious milk; and when I came away they took the entrance ladder from one of the houses to help me to mount the elephant.”

They ride back on an overgrown elephant track, passing several lairs and tiger tracks until they reach Kuala Kangsar, where they have to cross the Perak river again, this time in a dugout. Here are two illustrations from her book, a dugout and a street in Kuala Kangsar.

When Hugh Low hears about this adventure, he is at first displeased, saying that the clerk was ignorant and foolish, but later he admits that it has been useful to show that the region was pacified now. “..but, he added, it would appear somewhat odd that the first European to test the disposition of the Koto-lamah people should be a lady

Her stay in Kuala Kangsar is full of variety. She meets Malay Royalty, Raja Yusuf (regent of Perak), Raja Idris (the future sultan) , the two sons of Abdullah, goes bird-shooting with Captain Walker and of course there are the apes.

So it is reluctantly that she leaves Kuala Kangsar. Hugh Low likes her company,. “Mr. Low kindly expresses regret at my going, and says he has got quite used to my being here, and added: “You never speak at the wrong time. When men are visiting me they never know when to be quiet, but bother one in the middle of business.”

Her trip back to Taiping is uneventful and much faster than when she came by elephant, one week earlier. I rode a capital pony, on Mr. Low’s English saddle, a Malay orderly on horseback escorting me, and the royal elephant carried my luggage.

She stays a few more days in Taiping before leaving for Penang, from where she sails back to England on the 25th of February.

I have concentrated in this blog on her travel adventures. The book contains a lot more, there are separate, quite informative, chapters about the states she has visited. Of course she is still a product of the Victorian era, fully convinced of the superiority of the Brits. She can be quite blunt in her opinion about the Malays and especially about the Chinese.