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Generations: The Story of Batu Gajah
In 1884 Batu Gajah was made the administrative headquarters of Kinta district in Perak. Kinta soon became the richest district in the Federated Malay States as tin was discovered and thousands of Chinese flocked there to participate in the Tin Rush. The Kinta Land Office (KLO) in Batu Gajah became the most important Land Office in the country. Drawing from the KLO files and other government documents, Dr Ho Tak Ming tells the story of Batu Gajah and its pioneers - William Kellie Smith, who built the famous Kellie's Castle, Charles Alma Baker, a surveyor, miner and planter, Toh Indera Wangsa Ahmad, the maternal grandfather of HRH Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak and one of the most successful Malay tin miners, Ho Yuk Phooi, an early civil servant working in the Kinta Land Office, and Khi Nin, a pioneering tin miner.
As he delves into the old records, the author begins a journey of discovery as he learns of the truth behind Kellie's Castle, the part his maternal grandfather, Khi Nin, played in the Kinta Tin Rush, and how early-onset glaucoma forced his paternal grandfather, Ho Yuk Phooi, to change career from civil servant to miner and planter.
As he delves into the old records, the author begins a journey of discovery as he learns of the truth behind Kellie's Castle, the part his maternal grandfather, Khi Nin, played in the Kinta Tin Rush, and how early-onset glaucoma forced his paternal grandfather, Ho Yuk Phooi, to change career from civil servant to miner and planter.
172 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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June 2, 2018
Who would have thought that such a seemingly insignificant Malaysian town has such a rich history?
The author uses the life of his grandfather (Ho Yuk Phooi) to tell a wider narrative about the town of Batu Gajah and the district of which it is the Seat of: Kinta. Ho Yuk Phooi's life is indeed highly suitable for this purpose, as his journey took him from Clerk at the Land Office as a young man (as the Kinta prosperity boom was starting), to tin and plantation tycoon (as the boom was in full swing), then eventually to less fortunate circumstances (after Kinta's heyday and into WW2).
Along the way, the reader learns about many of the characters which made Kinta tick in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The book provides insight into what the Kinta boom actually was (major tin mining and rubber growing) and how it was managed. Insights into neighbouring towns/districts, in particular Larut (Taiping), Kampar, Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh, and the many other mining towns of Kinta are given also.
If this historical topic is of interest to you, you won't be able to put this book down. It's easy to read and thoroughly researched (with long lists of references cited at the end of each chapter). It has many quotes from researched documents (letters, newspapers, etc.) and is peppered with photographs to accompany specific people/places. Marvellous.
The author uses the life of his grandfather (Ho Yuk Phooi) to tell a wider narrative about the town of Batu Gajah and the district of which it is the Seat of: Kinta. Ho Yuk Phooi's life is indeed highly suitable for this purpose, as his journey took him from Clerk at the Land Office as a young man (as the Kinta prosperity boom was starting), to tin and plantation tycoon (as the boom was in full swing), then eventually to less fortunate circumstances (after Kinta's heyday and into WW2).
Along the way, the reader learns about many of the characters which made Kinta tick in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The book provides insight into what the Kinta boom actually was (major tin mining and rubber growing) and how it was managed. Insights into neighbouring towns/districts, in particular Larut (Taiping), Kampar, Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh, and the many other mining towns of Kinta are given also.
If this historical topic is of interest to you, you won't be able to put this book down. It's easy to read and thoroughly researched (with long lists of references cited at the end of each chapter). It has many quotes from researched documents (letters, newspapers, etc.) and is peppered with photographs to accompany specific people/places. Marvellous.
Displaying 1 of 1 review