Taiping Lake Gardens

The Taiping Lake Gardens in Wikipedia.

Taiping Lake Gardens (Source: Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya, pg.858)

History 

Source: Tin Mines - Perak Museum Notes No.3 (1893)

The present Taiping Lake Gardens and the area stretching all the way up to Kamunting was, at one time, the centre of  fierce fighting, rioting and devastation during the  Larut Wars that began in 1861.  Thirteen years later, on 20 January, 1874,  the Pangkor Treaty officially marked the end of these protracted wars and the beginning of a new era of peace, development and prosperity for the region.

The Pangkor Treaty resolved the Sultan of Perak succession dispute; the rivalry between the Chinese Hai Sans and Ghee Hins over control of waterways for tin mining;  and the acceptance of the British Residency system to advise on all State administration matters except Malay customs and religion.

Perak Museum Notes No.3 (1893)

Perak Museum Notes No.3 (1893)

With peace restored, the influx of new settlers to the rich tin mining areas of Klian Pau and Klian Bharu saw the local population grew from about 4,000 (1872-1873) to over 33,000 (end 1874).

Perak Museum Notes No.3 (1893)

The British concentrated on implementation of British administration and infrastructure development  to keep pace with the increasing population and the prosperity of the area. Two new townships were developed. Klian Pauh became Taiping, meaning "Everlasting Peace" in Chinese, and Klian Bharu was named as Kamunting.


In 1884, a large area comprising swamps and abandoned mining pools was drained, levelled, planted and fenced for a public garden in Taiping.

Several British individuals had been credited for the development of the public gardens in Taiping.

According to the Selangor Journal dated Jan 12, 1894, several individuals were credited for the development of the garden. Swettenham's wife, Constance Sydney Holmes, got the help of Inspector of Mines, William R. Scott, to turn the area into a scenic place and subsequently a park. Leonard Wray, the Superintendent of Government Hill at Larut and also Curator at the Perak State Museum,, and the British administration contributed to the design,landscaping and beautification of the gardens. Convicted prisoners from the nearby Taiping Goal or Prison (established in 1879) provided the labour.

The Taiping Lake Gardens was originally a mining ground before it was established as a public garden in 1880. The idea of a public garden was the brainchild of Colonel Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker.^[1] The garden was developed by Charles Compton Reade (1880–1933), who was also responsible for planning the Kuala Lumpur garden town, together with Lady Swettenham.

 In 1880, Walker conceived the idea of transforming a disused mining site in Taiping into a garden for the benefit of the townspeople. The land was donated to the town by its owner, Mr. Chung Thye Phin, (1879–1935) a wealthy tin miner and rubber planter.  He was a member of the Perak Advisory Board and the last Kapitan China of Perak and Malaya. He donated a fountain to the Penang Turf Club and the Taiping Lake Gardens to the Perak State Government.

By 1884, with the help of Walker and his police staff, the Taiping Lake Gardens were complete with grasses, flowers and trees; the 62 hectares site was the first public gardens in Malaya. (Timeline? need to be verified)

The concept behind the creation of the lake gardens is attributed to the nostalgia brought by the
 Lake District of England and the Highland of Scotland.

Chung Keng Quee (From Wikipedia)

Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee  (1821 – 13 December 1901) was the founder and administrator of modern Taiping. He was appointed "Captain China" by the British in 1877.

He was a millionaire philanthropist and known as an innovator in the mining of tin.

In the early 1890s Chung Keng Quee was reported to own some of the finest tin mines in Sorakai (Kinta) and Kota (Larut). One of his tin mine at Kota was reputed as  the largest alluvial tin mine in the world and employed 5,000 mining coolies.

One of his mining pools was donated [The Selangor Journal: Jottings Past and Present, Vol II, 1984, Pg 102] for public use by his son, Chung Thye Phin (1879–1935) and is today the Taiping Lake Gardens.

Chung Thye Phin (Source: Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya, pg.210)

It was officially opened to the public by then Perak British Resident Frank Swettenham on Nov 17, 1893.  In 1911, it was considered to be perhaps the most beautiful of any gardens in the then Federated Malay States.

 The original size of the garden was about 153 acres or 61.93ha but after additional acquisition by the Perak Government, is now located on about 238 acres or 96.44ha site.

It is divided into several components, namely the green belt; Silver Jubilee Memorial Jetty; Taiping Jubilee Memorial Pavilion; Fountain; Red Bridges and other bridges; Bougainvillea Point; Sevens Sister Point; Bamboo Point; Lotus Point; Turtle Bay; Jungle Lake; West Lake; Almanda Pond; Oblong Pond; Central Jungle; Turtle Point; and The Raintrees.

The park's proximity to the foot of Bukit Larut (formerly Maxwell Hill) makes it look more majestic and its beauty was an inspiration to artists, writers and singers.


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Founder Of The Cantonese Association In Taiping

The Kwantung hui-kuan (Cantonese Association) along Temple Street in Taiping was founded in 1887 by Chung, Keng Quee and others as an association of people from Kuangtung (Guangdong) province in South China.
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More on the historical background of the Taiping Lake Gardens by teochiewkia


The Taiping Lake Gardens is one of the many firsts in Malaysia.

Taiping has many "Firsts" in Malaysia

Another short history on the Taiping Lake Gardens in the Property page of the local newspaper The Star




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My Home - Taiping 


Producer: Bodi Langka Ram Buddhist Temple - Ng Chuan Soon


A song related to how important our Home in each individual daily life. Dhamma starts from our Home. This Short video discourse a series of photographs taken from Taiping Lake Garden, Perak.

Short write-up on Taiping Lake Gardens

https://www.facebook.com/alan.woo.1029/videos/1142453989234184/