A Visit to the Old Protestant Cemetery.
Peter ate well at breakfast. He was clearly gaining more colour and more strength. He said he would swim today, but wanted me to go out first. I hadn't really planned what I wanted to do, but I remembered that when I had last visited The Old Protestant Cemetery, it had been closed. I checked and it seemed to have reopened, so I decided to start there.
So why would anyone want to visit a cemetery? Well, I totally love this cemetery for several reasons. One, it's got an absolutely fascinating history. Two, the graves have so much information on them, it's simply incredible. Three, there are some very interesting people buried in there.
Entrance to the cemetery.
View of the cemetery.
View of the cemetery.
View of the cemetery.
View of the cemetery.
Let's start with the history of the cemetery itself. When Macau was leased by the Portuguese, the whole place was considered to be holy Catholic ground. Beyond the Macau boundaries there was an area of no man's land and then there was the border with Mainland China. It was forbidden to bury any non-Catholics in Macau and it was forbidden to bury any non-Chinese people in Mainland China. So if you were a Non-Chinese Protestant living in Macau and you died, there was nowhere to bury you. It was even forbidden to bury anyone in no man's land, but that was all that people could do. Can you imagine grieving relatives and friends being forced to creep into no man's land in the dead of night to bury their loved ones in secret? Graves here could not be clearly marked or they would be dug up and desecrated. As more and more non-Catholics came to Macau, the situation got worse and worse.
Eventually in 1821, The British East India Company solved the problem by purchasing a plot of land next to its headquarters in Macau. They then worked on resolving the land's legal status, so that the Portuguese would permit the burial of British Protestants here. Later on, the British East India Company decided to allow the burial of all Protestants here, regardless of their nationality. Nowadays it's possible to find the graves of British, American, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Armenian and German people here. Some of the graves even predate the opening of the cemetery, because some people disinterred their loved ones who had been buried in no man's land and reburied them here.
So what about these informative grave stones? Well, let me share a few with you.
The first person to be buried in this cemetery was Mary Morrison. She was the wife of missionary Robert Morrison. She died of cholera while she was pregnant with their fourth child. Her grave stone says:
'Sacred to the memory of Mary, wife of Robert Morrison D.D. who erewhiles anticipating a living Mother's joy, suddenly but with pious resignation, departed this life after a short illness of 14 hours, bearing with her to the grave her hoped for child. Mary was born in Dublin Oct 24 1791 and died at Macau June 10 1821.
In a moment at the last trump- The dead shall be raised incorruptible. O death where is thy sting! O graveyard where is thy victory! Thanks be to God who giveth us the VICTORY through Our Lord Jesus Christ. HALLELUJAH!
The grave of Mary Morrison.
And if you think Mary's grave was informative, here's what Robert's says:
'Sacred to the memory of Robert Morrison DD., The first protestant missionary to China, Where after a service of twenty-seven years, cheerfully spent in extending the kingdom of the blessed Redeemer during which period he compiled and published a dictionary of the Chinese language, founded the Anglo Chinese College at Malacca and for several years laboured alone on a Chinese version of The Holy Scriptures, which he was spared to see complete and widely circulated among those for whom it was destined, he sweetly slept in Jesus.
He was born at Morpeth in Northumberland 5 January 1782, was sent to China by the London Missionary Society in 1807, was for twenty five years Chinese translator in the employ of The East India Company and died in Canton 1 August 1834.
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth, Yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.'
The grave of Robert Morrison.
Two other Morrisons are buried here. Robert and Mary's son, James, who tragically died on the same day he was born and their son John Robert Morrison.
James Morrison born and died on the same day.
John Robert Morrison was an interpreter and colonial official in Macau. After the death of his father in 1834, John Robert Morrison replaced him as Chinese Secretary and Interpreter to the Superintendents of British Trade in China. He was appointed as Acting Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong and a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils in 1843, but unfortunately he died eight days later of fever in Hong Kong.
The grave of John Robert Morrison.
Another historically important figure buried here is the missionary Samuel Dyer. He was a typographer, known for creating a steel typeface of Chinese characters for printing. This replaced the traditional wood blocks which were used before. His grave is also rich in information but unfortunately I couldn't read it due to moss that had grown over it and obscured the words. However, I found a copy of its inscription online. It says:
'SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE REV SAMUEL DYER, Protestant Missionary to the Chinese, Who for 16 years devoted all his energies to the advancement of the Gospel among the emigrants from China, settled in Pinang, Malacca and Singapore.
As a Man, he was amiable & affectionate. As a Christian, upright, sincere, & humble-minded. As a Missionary, devoted zealous, & indefatigable.
He spared neither time, nor labour nor property in his efforts to do good to his fellowmen. He died in the confident belief of that truth which for so many years he affectionately & faithfully preached to the Heathen.
He was born 20 February 1804, sent to the East by the London Missionary Society and died at Macao, 24 October. 1843.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.'
The grave of Samuel Dyer.
There are other people buried here who are either well-known, related to people who are well-known or just interesting.
One of the people who was well-known in Macau is the artist George Chinnery. I previously found tiled pictures of his works while exploring the area near the cathedral. Chinnery was born in London in 1774. He spent many years in India. From 1825 until his death in 1852 he was based in Macau. He painted portraits of Chinese and Western merchants, sea captains and their families. He also painted lots of landscapes and made many drawings of people engaged in their every day tasks. It's these latter drawings that were unusual for their time and give a valuable insight into daily life in the nineteenth century.
Grave of George Chinnery.
Dedication to George Chinnery.
There are also people with famous relatives buried here such as Royal Navy captain Henry John Spencer-Churchill. He was the son of the 5th Duke of Marlborough and great-great-granduncle of Winston Churchill. Then there's US Naval Lieutenant Joseph Harod Adams. He was the grandson of the second president of the United States, John Adams, and nephew of the sixth, John Quincy Adams. Then there's Captain Sir Humphrey Fleming Senhouse who was the senior naval officer of the British fleet from 31 March 1841 until his death on board his flagship, HMS Blenheim, in Hong Kong from fever contracted during the capture of Canton.
The grave of Captain Henry John Spencer-Churchill.
On the side of Captain Henry John Spencer-Churchill's grave.
The grave of Lieutenant Joseph H Adams.
The grave of Captain Sir Humphrey Fleming Senhouse.
Another person who was well-known here was Professor Sir Lindsay Ride. He was born in Australia in 1898. He was appointed Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Hong Kong in 1928. He carried out a great deal of research in the field of Human Genetics. He represented Hong Kong on a variety of athletics teams and was a founder member and later conductor of the Hong Kong Singers. Professor Sir Lindsay Ride was fascinated by the Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau and carried out a lot of research on it. His ashes were scattered here and there's a memorial to him on one of the cemetery walls.
In memory of Sir Lindsay Tasman Ride.
Then there are the graves of many ordinary people who died in Macau and lie buried here. Many of them were sailors and most of them died young. Many died due to accidents on board their ships, such as falling from a height, many died from diseases such as fever and malaria. I also noticed one man had been the coroner in Malacca. I can't find out much about him, but his father was an important person in the colony of Penang and there's a rumour he may have been related to Sir Walter Scott.
In memory of John P Griffin, an American seaman who died from a fall on board his ship.
In memory of an apprentice boy who died from the effects of a fall on board ship.
The grave of The Coroner of Malacca, Frank Scott.
The grave of Oliver Mitchell from Vermont who died of dysentery.
Frederick B Wintle, died of an illness.
Some of the graves are inscribed with beautiful verses and most of them have a strong nautical theme, because they are the graves of sailors. One of these is the grave of George H Dungan. His inscription is filled with nautical references and reads:
'The port is reached, the sails are furled, life's voyage now is over, By faith's bright chart he has reached that world where storms are felt no more.'
The grave of George H Dungan.
The grave of Fred Duddell has a similar theme and reads:
'Poor wanderers on a stormy way, from wave to wave we're driven and fancy's flash and reason's ray serve but to light the troubled way, there's nothing gain but heaven.'
The grave of Fred Duddell.
Then there's the grave of J. George Duncan which reads:
'Though Boreas blows and Neptune's waves have tossed me to and fro, by God's decree you plainly see I'm anchored here below, where they at anchor safely ride with many of our fleet, but once again we must set sail Our Saviour Christ to meet.'
The grave of J. George Duncan.
The Old Protestant Cemetery has a chapel called The Morrison Chapel which was built in 1821 and named after the missionary Robert Morrison. It contains 162 tombs located on two levels. Forty newer tombs are on the upper level and one hundred and twenty -two older tombs are on the lower level..
The Morrison Chapel.
The Morrison Chapel.
Inside The Morrison Chapel.
The Old Protestant Cemetery was closed in 1858 when a New Protestant Cemetery was created, but in 1971 twenty-two memorials that had been placed in the New Cemetery were set into a wall in The Old Cemetery. In 2005, The Old Protestant Cemetery was officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau and rightfully so because it's a real insight into a bygone age.
After leaving the cemetery, I had a quick look at the building the British East India Company used to rent from a wealthy Portuguese merchant called Manuel Pereira. They used this building as their headquarters in Macau. In the garden there's a statue of Bernardino Senna Fernandes, who was a Macanese recipient of a medal of honour. Nowadays this building is the headquarters of the Oriental Foundation.
This used to be the headquarters of The British East India Company.
Bernardino Senna Fernandes.
Fountain in the garden.
Post box in the garden.
Next I wandered into Camões Gardens to see the Mid Autumn Festival decorations.
Mid Autumn Festival decorations.
Mid Autumn Festival decorations.
Mid Autumn Festival decorations.
Lanterns for the festival.
Flowers in the gardens.
Flowers in the gardens.
Flowers in the gardens.
Waterfall in Camões Gardens.
I decided since it wasn't far away I would go to the Fire Service's Museum. On the way I passed some lanterns for sale for the festival. I also passed a statue of Sun Yat Sen outside the Kiang Wu Hospital.
Lanterns.
Lanterns.
Dr Sun Yat Sen.
The Fire Service's Museum is in a beautiful old colonial building which used to be the Headquarters of the Fire Services in Macau. The building dates from 1920. Inside there are models of old fire engines, manual water pumps, and some flags, emblems, decorations and badges of the Macau fire brigade at different times in history. Admission is free.
The Fire Service's Building.
Emblem of the Macau Fire Services.
Fire Service vehicles.
Old fire engine.
Fire Service's motorcycle.
Fire Service's uniform and ladder.
Fire Service's uniform and flags.
Buildings would have a set of buckets as one iof the earliest ways of putting out a fire.
I had noticed signs for a temple I hadn't visited yet, so I decided to go and have a look. In fact there are three temples in a row: The Pao Kong Temple, The Temple of the divinity of medicine and The nam sam temple.
In 1888 there was a terrible plague in Macau which resulted in multiple deaths. Eventually someone came up with the idea of using an effigy of Pao Kong, god of justice, to drive it away. When the plague subsided in 1889 the temple of Pao Kong was built to house the effigy.
The temple of the divinity of medicine was built in 1895. I was the only tourist here. It was a friendly temple and I was invited to go everywhere including upstairs. Of course, I didn't understand exactly what I was looking at, but it was all very interesting anyway.
The three temples.
Outside the temples.
Entranceway.
Entranceway.
Inside the temples.
Statue inside the temples.
Bell inside the temples.
Inside the temples.
Inside the temples.
Inside the temples.
Inside the temples.
Inside the temples.
Inside the temples.
Inside the temples.
Upstairs in the temple.
Upstairs in the temple.
I realised I was very close to The Monte Fortress so I walked around it to The Ruins of St Paul's and photographed the Mid Autumn Festival decorations by day.
Decorations at St Paul's by day.
Coming down from St Paul's.
Street near the ruins of St Paul's.
Decorations in Senado Square by day.
Decorations in Senado Square by day.
Decorations in Senado Square by day.
Perhaps inspired by the fact I had finally made it to The Fire Service's Museum, I decided to pop into two more museums I always walk past on my way home.
The first one is The Tak Seng On Pawnshop, which means The Virtue and Success Pawnshop. This was established in 1917. There's not a massive amount to see here. There's the counter where transactions would take place and a massive amount of storage for the goods that were pawned. Some of the storage areas could be very securely locked.
Inside the pawn shop.
Then I had a quick look inside The Tung Sin Tong Charitable Society Building. This organisation was established in 1892. It helps to provide clothing, food and medicine to the poor. Nowadays it also operates nurseries, schools and clinics.
The Tung Sin Tong Charitable Society Building.
The Tung Sin Tong Charitable Society Building..
Back home we had afternoon tea, then a swim. We had a very enjoyable dinner. I went out very briefly, as I had remembered there were Mid Autumn Festival decorations outside the old opium den, which is now a clinic for drug addicts run by The Tung Sin Tong Charitable Society .
Mid Autumn Festival decorations outside the opium house.
Mid Autumn Festival decorations outside the opium house.
Next day we had a free late checkout until 4pm. I think that was because we had booked a suite. We did everything a bit later. We got up a bit later, ate breakfast a bit later and swam a bit later.
Peter in the pool.
Peter in the pool.
We hadn't used our free drinks voucher and I suggested a drink by the pool, but I was too hot, so we asked for it in the club lounge instead. As soon as we appeared they brought us afternoon tea. We pointed out that we weren't entitled to afternoon tea and hadn't paid for it, but they just kept saying: "Oh please, you are our special guests"
We caught a shuttle bus shortly after four pm. Peter managed fine on the way back and we got home without any problems.