The Singapore Letters of Benjamin Cook

by Adrian G. Marshall
Postscript by John Bastin

Benjamin Cook was born in London on 6 March 1835 to the sister of Thomas Dunman, the famous Superintendent of Police in mid-19th century Singapore.

These 14 letters, written between April 1854 and March 1855, were addressed to Harry Russell whom Benjamin persuaded to join him in Singapore. In the letters, he describes in tantalising detail the routine and events in the colonial commercial centre and the many personalities he met.

Enroute to Singapore, Benjamin befriended the great English naturalist Alfred Wallace and his assistant Charles Allen. Later, he visited them on a collecting trip in Bukit Timah and picnicked with them on the southern islands. He also met Whampoa – whom he describes as having a delightful twinkle in his eye – and was given a tour of his famous house and gardens.

Benjamin also reported on the Chinese Riots and the Commission of Enquiry into the affairs of Rajah Sir James Brooke of Sarawak. More mundane are his accounts of a society wedding, visits to brothels, the government’s efforts to curb the tiger menace and the ball in celebration of 36 years of the founding of Singapore.

A keen amateur artist, Benjamin Cook illustrated his letters and filled his sketch books with remarkable fresh vignettes of old Singapore.

Size: 260 x 230 mm (P)
Extent: 136 pages
Binding: Casebound
Weight: 700 g
ISBN: 978-981-3065-77-2