BATU Gajah used to be the headquarters of the British administration in the 1880s during the glory years of tin mining in Malaya. It was also where I was born.
A recent trip from Kuala Lumpur to this quaint Perak town proved to be a journey down memory lane as I revisited my childhood haunts. The drive there took three hours.
On a small plateau known as Changkat are many colonial buildings which the British built for their little administrative town. The clumps of bamboo trees encircling the foot of the hill are now gone, though thankfully, the huge 100-year-old trees remain, providing a natural and shady arch along the road to the top of the ridge.
Still standing are the St Joseph Catholic Church and other buildings such as the Government Rest House and District Officer’s House.
The Batu Gajah Hospital, a complex of several wooden buildings, brought back memories of my days being hospitalised for malaria twice in my lifetime!
I was also happy to see my alma mater, Sultan Yusof School, where I attended primary school.
One particularly beautiful government office that stands out is the courthouse with its pretty windows, high columns and breezy verandahs.
A sign records that it was built in 1892 by engineer Francis Caulfield at a time when Frank A. Swettenham was the British Resident.
The pencil sketch on paper was done in about 30 minutes as an observational study of the building’s structural design and ornamentation.