This is part of the photographs I took from the Penang Christians Cemetery.
I had Google a little on Sir Francis Light and here are some things I found :
Francis Light was born in Suffolk. Although his date of birth is unknown, his baptism is recorded as 15 December 1740
Light married Martina Rozells, by whom he had 3 daughters and 2 sons. His eldest son, William Light, became the first Surveyor General of Southern Australia and founder of the city of Adelaide. Francis Light died from a Malarial attack on 21 October 1794.
Information taken from Aim25
Another angle of Sir Francis Light’s grave.
It is a modest tomb compared to the others. In fact, it was hidden amongst majestic, dome shapes tombs and I had to search around before I found the grave. Well, I never expect that a graveyard can conjures such profound feelings in me. I am still in awe at the courageous young men and women who ventured to Malaysa to set up their homes here. I guess life was hard then because many of the graves there belong to days old babies and teenagers.
Rest in peace, Sir Francis Light.
You are right, life must have been hard. Many of the families that went to tropical locations for settlement left from temperate places like England. Most youngsters had no resistance to the diseases that flourished in the tropics and some fell victim at a very early age. My wife and I have travelled through the Caribbean and there are a similar collection of children’s graves on all the Islands. Very sad.
So sad about the kids. Is the Francis Light grave on any of the tours?
darn so sad and yet today someone found a dead newborn in the longkang! longkang??!!! of all places!
Thanks for the info my relative never mention he was buried in Penang maybe they also do not know looking at the photos guess it was forgotten…Never realise that Sir Francis Light was buried in Penang. Next time during my visit to Penang this place would be on NO 1 on my list. Reminds me of the old Bidadari Funelral gorounds here in Singapore which have been exhume…
lmdt – The place is really a good spot to visit because it evokes a lot of feelings there. Peaceful, calm, dignified etc.
babe_kl – And scary that the baby was probably alive when they stuffed him into the bag.
boo – It is part of the Penang Heritage Trial. Located along the main road so you can’t miss.
Tom – I don’t know about others but I do feel thankful that these English people came to our country and set up all the basic systems for us. We owe them for the development.
Did you know that Francis Light gave Mr.BF’s ancestors (dunno how many generation before him) so many pieces of land. And now, all the orang tua passed away adi..the young ones are fighting for it because it’s worth millions. Crazy.