FORT CORNWALLIS

In 1786, on the 16^th of July, a British fleet arrived off shore and Captain (later Sir) Francis Light landed to plant the Union Jack. Of course he was not the first to come to Penang. Malaysians already lived there under the rule of a local sultan. It was a fairly swampy area then but in time became the base for Georgetown.

Captain Light immediately set about building a fort, out of bakau wood, the local palm. Obviously, while this may have looked good, the wooded walls would not have withstood many canon balls during an attack. So fairly quickly, in 1793 actually, the fort was upgraded with stone walls although Captain Light's original star shape was retained. From what I seem to know, a star shape was a fairly common design as the protruding star points enabled the defenders to be out beyond the main wall line and so able to fire at wanyone attempting to attack and scale the walls.

It was named after Charles Cornwallis the Governor General in Bengal and may have indicated his popularity or perhaps was a political move by the British East India Company to gain or retain favor.

So today we can see the oldest fort in Malaysia and get an idea of what it would have been like 300 years ago. But, today it does seem to be a bit run down.

The fort is next to the sea and today seperated from it by The Esplanade which is a popular area for locals to walk along and fish when the tide is in. Unfortunately the sea here proved to be too shallow to become a base for a British fleet and this alone casued a decline in the fort's importance.

My problem was finding a way in. I walked along Light Road, on the inland side of the fort but couldn't see an open way in. At the far end was a large notice with details of visiting and arrow pointing the way. So I headed off following the arrow. Along the next side I came to a rather imposing gate which seemed to be the way I should go in. But it was closed. Oh well, that's life. So I walked on following the walls around until I reached the final side – almost where I had started from. And here it was, and open door, with a list of admission fees.

As I had walked around the walls I was interested to see and photograph various canon pointing out to sea. There had been a moat (9m wide x 2m deep) in front of the walls but it had been filled in during a maleria outbreak in the 1920's. However, by the entry gate a remanent of the moat did remain and had water and a draw bridge to walk across. Adult entry fee was RM2 which is a little less than NZ$1 so visiting was not expensive.

Just inside the gate is a bronze statue of Captain, Sir Francis Light. However, as no likeness of him was preserved, of for that matter ever made, the statue is based upon the likeness of his son, Willaim Light.

There is an arena in the middle of the fort with a stage and seating. However, the main thing to do is walk around the top of the wide walls and look at the view and see even more canon. One cannon – perhaps the largest- is considered by some locals to have magical fertility powers. An interesting but unbeliveable thought I would think. What is true about the canon, known as Sri Ramba Cannon, is that it was found on the seabed in the Straits of Malacca in 1880 and brought to Fort Cornwallis. Infertile women placing floweres at the cannon and saying some prayers are supposed to have born children.

In one corner there is a small powder store which I was able to go into. It was constructed in 1814 – a time when England and France were at war. In fact the possability of a French attack was one of the rasons for building the fort.

Essentially the powder store is just a small room with very think walls in which the gunpowder for the canon was stored. Interestingly though is the fact that never in the Fort's history has it never been attacked or fired on. Consequently it has never had to fire canon in anger.

In a different corner is a small white church, once again with thick walls which would keep the interior cool. While there is nothing to see inside the empty building, I was interested at how low the door frame was. Perhaps this indicated that the Europeans of the 18^th Century were all quite short. Or it could support another theory that it was never in fact a church or chapel but rather a munitions store. The idea behind this being that the East India Company for which Captain Light worked, was interested in making profit and not building churches.

A notice board stated that the first wedding to occur in the church in 1799, was the widow of Sir Francis Light, Martina Rozells, although this claim is disputed elsewhere. What I did find was that she was never actually married to Captain Light and they had several children. In his will Captain Light treated them as his wife and children and they inherited most of his savings and property. Actually, it seems tha Light himself was the result of a union between a village maid and a local married wealthy land owner. Interestingly this gentleman had treated Light as if he were his son with payment for education and an inheritance in his will.

The story of Captain Light and the fort is set out over a number of posters in rooms under the walls.

Also on the fort site is an old lighthouse – a metal framed tower.

While the fort may not be as grand and imposing as some in Europe, it is still a pleasant and relaxing attraction to visit in Georgetown. And there was a steady flow of visitors while I was there. Not in hundreds but in ones and twos and threes. You did not feel crowded or having to compete to see or read something.