EARLIER this month, the grand Suffolk House, originally built in the 1780s and now one of the oldest existing structures from the British colonial era, was given special recognition by Unesco. The historic mansion was conferred the "Award of Distinction" for its restoration, in conjunction with the world body's annual Asia Pacific Heritage Awards.
Set majestically on open grounds along the banks of the Air Itam River, the mansion had come close to demolition as far back as 1839 and again in the 1950s. At one point, it had deteriorated so badly that some people thought it was "beyond saving".
What makes the house significant was that it was built in the Suffolk estate, owned by the founder of the British settlement of Penang, Captain Francis Light. Considered the purest example of Anglo-Indian architecture outside India, the house served as a Government House in the early 1800s, and witnessed some of the most critical political events of the era. The founding of Singapore, for example, is said to have been discussed by Sir Stamford Raffles in the hallowed confines of the Suffolk House.
But there is also a secret legacy of romance that the house will forever be associated with, one that is still largely unknown to the public.
According to the Badan Warisan Malaysia, the Suffolk Estate was ac actually bequeathed by Light to one Martina Rozells - his lover and common law wife of over 20 years. But it was never transferred to her after Light's death. Instead, the house was sold in 1805 by Light's executors to William Edward Phillips, one of Penang's early governors.
For the relationship between Light, who spoke Siamese and Malay, and Rozells, a local Siamese- Eurasian of Portuguese descent, was considered scandalous in the English colonial circles of that time.
The story of Light and Rozells is a fascinating one. And it does not just reverberate with a romantic drama that transcends the cultural and social mores of the days of yore.
The very acquisition of Penang and the establishment of the island as a 'Prince of Wales' settlement - an event that paved the way for the British to foray into the rest of Malaya - may well have been brought about by the special relationship between Light and Rozells.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to be acquainted with the research of American historian Sue Gross, who made detailed findings on the little-known woman named Martina Rozells.
What made the character of Rozells intriguing was that she was said to be an adopted child of the Sultan of Kedah, and was instrumental in Light getting hold of Penang island as a British colony. She was, according to the research, used as an intermediary by the sultan while negotiating with Light, but went on to develop a relationship with him.
Rozells bore five children with Light while remaining his common-law companion. Due to her "half-caste" Asian ethnicity, she was reportedly looked down upon by the early British community of the period. Light never married her due to the social stigma associated with a British officer having a conjugal relationship with a native.
After Light passed away in 1794, she struggled to claim the inheritance he had left for her and their children against a few English con spirators who wanted the share.
Interestingly, one of the children,Colonel William Light, later founded \, the city of Adelaide. The famous statue of Francis Light, which was unveiled in 1939, is said to have been modelled on William's looks. The statue today stands in the compound of Fort Cornwallis in George Town.
During a special ceremony to receive the Unesco award, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng officiously proclaimed that the Suffolk House had colourful journey that spanned decades, and was a testimony to the perseverance of Penang's conservationists.
"Suffolk is part of a living cultural heritage that contributed towards making Penang what it is today with British colonial influences ethnic and cultural diversity matched with the rich spirituality, wisdom and moral precepts of the world's major religions," he declared.
But more significantly, Suffolk House may just be the only physical heirloom left, of a great romantic secret that held the key behind the very origins of the settlement of Penang, and of the British expansion into the rest of Malaya.
