Wandering around the old Protestant Cemetery in Georgetown you can’t help but wonder that being appointed governor of Penang Island in the early 19th century was tantamount to a receiving a death sentence.

Grave of Philip Dundas (Left), Governor of Penang who died in 1807 (right is John Hope Oliphant, administrator in Penang, who was married to Dundas’ sister-in-law)

Not only Philip Dundas, but three of his successors, Charles Bruce, William Petrie and John Alexander Bannerman, all died of disease whilst serving in the office of Governor of Prince of Wales Island between 1800 and 1820. Three of them are buried in the Protestant Cemetery.

The career path of Philip Dundas to governorship of the Prince of Wales Island set a pattern for those that followed him in the post in the early 19th century.

First, enrol as a naval cadet in the East India Company in your twenties and work your way up to captain of a ship by the age of 40 or become a colonial administrative officer in the East India Company in somewhere like Madras, India, accumulating your riches along the way.

Fort St. George, Madras was a popular overseas posting for ambitious British colonial administrators in the East India Company who wanted to get rich quickly (Source: public domain)

Then return home to England, enjoying a wealthy retirement in middle age whilst considering standing as a member of Parliament.

After getting into debt and possibly being deselected by the party, then apply for a suitable position overseas in somewhere like Penang as a resident British Governor.

This was the course followed by Philip Dundas who succeeded Sir Robert Townsend Farquhar, Lieutenant-governor.

He began his career as a naval officer in the East India Company and later became president of the East India company Marine Board and Superintendent of Bombay, returning to England and becoming a member of Parliament for the rotten borough of Gatton in Surrey where one vote only was cast.

After losing his seat in Parliament he applied for and was appointed as first Governor of Prince of Wales Island which had been newly promoted from a Lt-Governorship to a First Presidency on a par with Bengal and Madras. He arrived in 1804 with a large group made up of members of the new administration on board the East India Ship Ganges including his deputy Secretary, Stamford Raffles. According to an article published in the Penang Gazette:

“His selection for this post was based on his experience and knowledge of nautical affairs, fitting him for the work then contemplated of converting Penang into a naval depot and shipbuilding port.”

Dundas’ governorship was to be tragically cut short like his successors. During his short tenure of three years not much is known of his achievements although he is reported to have gained renown for establishing a brothel quarter on the outskirts of Georgetown which was seen as a reform as prostitution here would be officially supervised.

He died on 8th April, 1807 aboard HMS Belliqueux in the Bay of Bengal due to “unsanitary conditions” aged 45, his wife having predeceased him by a few weeks and, as I discovered, was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Georgetown.