One Hundred Years' History Of The Chinese In Singapore: The Annotated Edition. Ong Siang Song
studied at St Joseph’s Institution and Anglo-Chinese School. He lost his parents at an early age and was cared for by his maternal grandfather Teo Lee. He reclaimed over 20,000 acres of waste land for rubber and pineapple planting, and, by 1910, became known as both ‘Rubber King’ and ‘Pineapple King’. He founded Chinese High School with Tan Kah Kee in 1919. He was also a founding member of the Tung Meng Hui in Singapore and helped Sun Yat Sen acquire support and money for the revolution. He passed away in Shanghai and is buried in Nanking near the Sun Yat Sen mausoleum. The Yishun area is named after him. See
28George Windsor Earl, The Eastern Seas, or Voyages and Adventures in the Indian Archipelago in 1832–33–34 (London: Wm H Allen & Co, 1837), at 352.
29Ibid, at 353.
30[Song: Vol iv, p 30]. See JT Thomson, ‘General Report on the Residency of Singapore, Drawn Up Principally with a View of Illustrating Its Agricultural Statistics’ (1850) 4 Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia 27, at 30.
31See Singapore Free Press, 28 March 1839, at 3. The quote Song extracted is edited and inaccurate, with several missing paragraphs and sentences.
32Major, later Lieutenant-Colonel James Low of the Madras Army was for many years employed in the Straits Settlements civil service as Magistrate and Chief of Police in Penang up to 1850. He was known as a writer of agriculture, geology and the history of the Straits and the Malay Peninsula. See Walter Makepeace, Gilbert E Brooke & Roland St J Braddell (eds), One Hundred Years of Singapore, Vol 1 (London: John Murray, 1921), at 81; and also CB Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore 1819–1867 (Singapore: Fraser & Neave, 1902), at 366–367.
33It is unclear as to the precise provenance of Low’s journal but it is reproduced in extenso in CB Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore 1819–1867 (Singapore: Fraser & Neave, 1902), at 355–366. The above passage is found at 362.
34In traditional Malay states, the Temenggong was an official responsible for maintaining law and order and commanding the police and army. This important non-hereditary position emerged during the development of the 15th-century Malaccan state. See ‘Temenggong’ in Encyclopedia Britannica, available at <http://global.britannica.com/topic/temenggong> (accessed 20 July 2015).
35Also spelt ‘Wah Heng’. See Arnold Wright & HA Cartwright (eds), Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya (London: Lloyd’s Greater Britain Publishing Company, 1908), at 705.
36Ibid.
37Tan Jiak Ngoh (1866-1939) was a Teochew merchant whose ancestors hailed from Guangdong, China. He was summoned to Singapore to take over his father’s successful business and also set up his own clothing shop on Circular Road and a remittance business. He donated generously to various causes, such as the Prince of Wales’ Fund, and returned to China in 1932 where he later died. See
38Thomas John Newbold (1807–1850) was born on 8 February 1807 and joined the 23rd regiment Madras light infrantry of the East India Company in 1828. He spoke both Hindi and Persian and in 1832 was posted to Malacca. In the three years that he was in the Straits of Malacca, he ‘had constant intercourse with the native chiefs on the Malayan peninsula’ and ‘accumulated materials for several papers contributed to the journals of the Asiatic societies of Bengal and Madras’. These papers formed the basis of his book, A Political and Statistical Account of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca, viz. Penang, Malacca and Singapore; With a History of the Malay States on the Peninsula of Malacca, 2 vols (London: John Murray, 1839). Newbold was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1834 and captain in 1842. He died at Mahubuleshwar, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, on 29 May 1850. See William Albert Samuel Hewins, ‘Newbold, Thomas John’ in Sidney Lee (ed), Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Vol 40 (New York: Macmillan & Co, 1894), at 314–315.
39[Song: Logan’s Journal, Vol II (1848)]. See R Little, ‘On the Habitual Use of Opium in Singapore’ (1848) 2 Journal of the Indian Archipelago & Eastern Asia 1.
40Wee Bin (1823–1868) was a Fujian-born shipping tycoon. He owned a fleet of more than 20 ships that plied trade routes to China and around the Malay and Indonesian archipelagos. A philanthropist as well, he contributed generous amounts to the building of the Chinese Free School, and the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School. (Most information is from Internet e.g. Factiva but – See
41Malacca-born Tan Kim Ching (1829–1892) was Tan Tock Seng’s eldest son, and a prominent businessman and philanthropist. He founded one of the earliest Chinese multinational rice-trading companies, becoming the ‘Rice King of Singapore’ in the 1870s. He served as the Hokkien Huay Kuan’s president for over 30 years from 1860. He was also one of the founders of Anglo-Chinese School. He held various important appointments, including that of Consul-General and Special Commissioner for Japan, Siam and Russia in the Straits, and was the first Asian to be elected member of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Tan Kim Cheng Road in Bukit Timah is named after him. See
42See CB Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore 1819–1867 (Singapore: Fraser & Neave, 1902), at 313.
43See note on Chee Kim Guan at n 7 above.
44See note on So Guan Chuan at n 8 above.
45TJ Newbold, A Political and Statistical Account of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca, viz. Penang, Malacca and Singapore; With a History of the Malay States on the Peninsula of Malacca, Vol 1 (London: John Murray, 1839), at 394.
46George Windsor Earl, The Eastern Seas or Voyages and Adventures of the Indian Archipelago in 1832–33–34 (London: Wm H Allen & Co, 1837), at 365–367.
47Ibid, at 367–368.
48Sir Samuel George Bonham (1803–1863) was born in Feversham, Kent, the son of Captain George Bonham. He served as Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1837 until 1847, becoming Governor of Hong Kong in 1848 until his retirement in England in 1854. See Robert P Dod, The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Whitaker & Co, 1860), at 124– 125; & GB Endacott, A Biographical Sketch-book of Early Hong Kong (Hong Kong University Press, 1962) 30–35.
49This administrative position within classical Malay kingdoms, comparable to a vizier, existed until the intervention of European powers in the 19th century. Sultans appointed the bendahara to his hereditary position; both shared the same lineage. See RO Windstedt, ‘Bendaharas and Temenggungs’ (1932) 10(1) Journal of Malayan Branch of Royal Asiatic Society 55–66.
50Chia Poh Eng (birth and death unknown) was a Hokkien Baba trader from Malacca and one of 36 merchants who co-founded a Family Benefit Society under the name Keng Tek Whay. His son was Chia Ann Siang. See
51See note on See Boon Tiong at n 4 above.
52Edward Boustead was an Englishman who arrived in Singapore in 1828 enroute to China. He saw the business opportunities offered by the vibrant trade settlement and founded Boustead and Company. The company initially traded spices, coconut, tea, tin, tobacco and silk. Today, it is a holding company with interests ranging from information and data systems to marketing services, and the second oldest company of European origin in Singapore. Boustead retired to England in 1850. See Walter Makepeace, Gilbert E Brooke & Roland St J Braddell (eds), One Hundred Years of Singapore Vol 2 (London: John Murray, 1921), at 189-191 & Melanie