Who Was the First Englishman to Climb Bukit Larut?

If you visit Taiping, many are aware of the existence of Bukit Larut as a cool and peaceful place with beautiful scenery. From the peak of the hill, formerly known as Maxwell Hill, visitors can see the town of Taiping, and on a clear day, if you are lucky, Penang in the north and Pangkor Island in the south can also be seen in the distance. You can read more information about Bukit Larut by clicking the link

here.

This article is not intended to recount the history of Bukit Larut, but rather to share the historical moment of who the first Englishman was to successfully climb to the peak of Bukit Larut. After the Pangkor Treaty was signed in 1874, a British Resident was appointed on November 2, 1874, namely

J.W.W. Birch

who was previously a British government official in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This was because the British administration believed that Birch's experience serving in Ceylon could be used to handle future issues with the Malays.

As soon as he was appointed as the Resident of Perak, Birch took the initiative to explore every corner of Perak to gain a deeper understanding of the society and culture of this new state for him. In most of the tours conducted by Birch, he was often accompanied by a young British officer named Frank Swettenham. Every observation made by Birch regarding the residents and areas within Perak was recorded in notes and captured in photographs.

J.W.W. Birch, the First British Resident of Perak

Because of this, it is believed that

J.W.W. Birch

was the first Englishman to successfully climb to the peak of Bukit Larut. This is further supported by a memorial stone erected at the peak of the hill which states “THE FIRST ENGLISHMAN TO CLIMB THIS HILL WAS MR T.W.W. Birch, FIRST BRITISH RESIDENT OF PERAK IN 1875”. The spelling T.W.W. Birch is an engraver's error because everyone knows that the first British Resident of Perak was

J.W.W. Birch

.

Memorial Stone of the First Englishman to Climb Bukit Larut

There are also some parties who doubt the fact regarding the first Englishman to successfully climb the peak, stating that Birch was killed in 1875. However, in reality, Birch was killed on November 4, 1875, and the stone does not mention which month of that year Birch climbed Bukit Larut. The memorial stone later 'disappeared', covered by thickets due to neglect, and was eventually rediscovered by those who sought to track it down.

View of Taiping Town from Bukit Larut

After the end of the

Perak War

in 1876, the British moved the capital of Perak from Bandar Baru, Kg Gajah to Taiping. Due to the tropical climate of Malaya, which was quite hot for the British officials serving here, they turned Bukit Larut into a retreat by building many holiday homes, drawn by its cool and comfortable atmosphere. Bukit Larut was later named Maxwell Hill in 1884, after the Assistant British Resident in Perak at that time.