Thomas Parr Monument

 

Vacation Star | Thomas Parr Monument | Thomas Parr Monument is one of the historical attractions in the city of Bengkulu. Located adjacent to Fort Marlborough, only about 170 m to the southeast. Obelisk-shaped monument with an area of ​​70 square meters and 13.5 meters high was built by the British government in tahun1808 to commemorate Resident Thomas Parr who was murdered by the people of Bengkulu.

Thomas Parr (1805-1807) is a British entrepreneur in Benguet into forty-nine are known to be very vicious and cruel. He was appointed by the British government to replace the Deputy Governor Walter Ewer (1800-1805). During his reign, Thomas Parr implement a system of forced cultivation to open a coffee plantation in Bengkulu. Can no longer count how many victims of lives lost during the cultivation period.

Until one day, hate the people of Bengkulu not be dammed again. One night, precisely on December 23, 1807, Bengkulu people abuzz stormed Mount Felix (Mount Palik) vacation home of Thomas Parr, of course with the intention to kill the resident. On that fateful night, the resident who did wrong was eventually killed in a tragic.

 

For the incident, the British Government did not take the silence. As retaliation, British soldiers and heinous act blindly, destroying hamlets and kill every resident. Not only that, cattle were not spared from the wrath of the British soldier who lost control.

According to one source, Thomas Parr graveyard is in a closed area at Fort Marlborough, with consideration, to avoid feelings of local residents, and also feared to be dug up and desecrated (cursed) by local residents. Likewise, the tomb of Charles Murray, the secretary who had tried to save Mr. Parr, and died on January 7, 1808.

For the British colonial government, somehow Thomas Parr was still regarded as a hero for service and devotion. Therefore, the British government then set up a monument to his memory. The monument was built on land located not far from the center of the capital of Bengkulu (about 150 feet) from Fort Marlborough.

The monument was established on January 7, 1808, there is an inscription (memory) associated with the event Mount Felix. British people called by the name of Parr Monument, while the elite group of indigenous Bengkulu called Raffles Park (Raffles Park). Bengkulu's own indigenous population is more familiar call it a bulek grave

Feature

The specialty of Thomas Parr Monument can be viewed from two aspects, namely the physical aspects of buildings and aspects of its history. Judging from its physical aspects, features Thomas Parr Monument can be seen from the unique architecture. This obelisk-shaped monument berdenah terms of 8 and has a Corinthian-style columns (round like a block of wood that contains the meaning that the building looks solid and authoritative). Terdpat The entrance at the front and right and left side, perfectly curved and has no doors. On one wall in the living room there is a role in the pillar inscription, but at this point can no longer be read because it is damaged. The top of the monument has a dome-shaped roof.

The historical value attached to this monument is to remind people of Indonesia on the contribution of the people of Bengkulu in ousting the British colonization of the archipelago. The monument is by the people of Bengkulu called Bulek grave is a symbol of struggle and unity in defending the rights and freedoms of their ancestral lands from the British colonial oppression.

Location

The monument is located at Thomas Parr Ahmad Yani street, the city of Bengkulu, Bengkulu province of Indonesia.

Access

The location right in the heart of the city of Bengkulu, making the monument of Thomas Parr is not difficult to access. From Airport Fatmawati Bengkulu, visitors can use a taxi or rental car to get to the location of this attraction takes about 1.5 hours. If a visitor using a landline, Thomas Parr Monument  is also easy to access, especially from the bus terminal Bengkulu. From the bus terminal Bengkulu, visitors can use public transportation called "angkot" to china town city village Bengkulu and down right before Thomas Parr Monument.

Accommodation and other Facilities

Location of Thomas Parr Monument in Bengkulu city center makes the location is surrounded by tourist accommodation facilities and the facilities are quite complete. Around the monument, visitors can find accommodation facilities and amenities such as hotels or lodging houses, restaurants, shopping centers (shopping center), mini market, souvenir kiosks, mobile kiosks vouchers, religious facilities (mosques and churches), kiosk, internet cafes and many more.