Thomas Parr Monument

The Thomas Parr Monument is located along Ahmad Yani Street, in the Kampung Cina (Chinatown) subdistrict of Bengkulu City, Bengkulu.{{sfn|Erza}} It is not far from the city center, and easily accessed.{{sfn|Kupas Bengkulu 2014}}

The monument is located approximately {{convert|170|m}} southeast of Fort Marlborough, the former British stronghold in the region.{{sfn|Bengkulu Municipal Government}} This location was originally near the buildings housing the British East India Company government and ruling council. However, since then the area has become predominantly commercial, with several shops and a post office located near the monument.{{sfn|CPCP 2014}}

File:Thomas Parr Monument, Bengkulu, 2015-04-19 02.jpg

The Thomas Parr Monument is octagonal in shape, covering a total area of {{convert|70|m2}}. Three arched openings provide entrance, and six Tuscan or Roman Doric columns surround the monument. The {{convert|13.5|m|adj=on}} monument is topped with a dome.{{sfn|CPCP 2014}}{{sfn|Bengkulu Municipal Government}} Owing to this dome, the mausoleum is also known locally as "Kuburan Bulek" ('Round Grave').{{sfn|Bengkulu Municipal Government}}

A wooden plaque lies within the monument, though {{as of|2014|lc=y}} it is illegible.{{sfn|Bengkulu Municipal Government}} Alan Harfield, in his 1985 discussion of the British graveyard and monuments in Bengkulu, quotes it as follows:

{{Quote|Here are deposited the Remains of Thomas Parr Esquire, Resident and Representative of the Honourable E.I. Cy. at Fort Marlborough in Bencoolen who although a benevolent Father to the Malay Inhabitants and solicitous to improve their Freedom and Prosperity in the prudent and gradual Introduction of Spontaneous ................................ fell with(out sent)ence of the ... and (unr)ivalled atrocity under the misguided and barbarous Fury of a Band of Assassins in the Night of the 27th of December A.D. 1807 in the ...th Year of His Age.{{sfn|Harfield|1985}}}}

Around the monument is a small park, with trees and other plants. The park is, in turn, surrounded by an iron fence.{{sfn|CPCP 2014}}

Bengkulu (then known as Bencoolen) fell under control of the Honourable East India Company during the 17th century. The company constructed a fortress, Fort Marlborough, and began to govern the region. In 1805, Thomas Parr was appointed Resident of Bencoolen, and introduced the large-scale production of coffee into the region.{{sfn|Kupas Bengkulu 2014}} The monument described Parr as "a benevolent Father" to the Malay residents of Bengkulu,{{sfn|Harfield|1985}} while Indonesian sources describe him as an "arrogant and ferocious man" who constantly interfered with the traditional customs of the Bengkulu populace.{{sfn|Kupas Bengkulu 2014}} During a rebellion against his administration on 27 September 1807, Parr and his aide Charles Murray were killed; three men entered his home, Mount Felix, stabbing and decapitating Parr and inflicting fatal wounds upon Murray.{{sfn|Bengkulu Municipal Government}} The East India Company quashed the rebellion, and the following year, a monument was constructed to honor Parr.{{sfn|Erza}}{{sfn|Kupas Bengkulu 2014}}

Though the monument was built as a memorial to Parr and his death, the people of Bengkulu have reinterpreted it as a testament to their willingness to defend their land rights and traditional customs.{{sfn|Bengkulu Municipal Government}} The monument is a cultural property of Indonesia.Sign in front of the monument

{{reflist|20em}}

{{refbegin|40em}}

• {{Cite web

|title=Monumen Thomas Parr

|trans-title=Thomas Parr Monument

|language=Indonesian

|publisher=Bengkulu Provincial Government

|url=http://go.bengkuluprov.go.id/ver3/index.php/pariwisata/wisata-sejarah/monumen-thomas-parr

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411055343/http://go.bengkuluprov.go.id/ver3/index.php/pariwisata/wisata-sejarah/monumen-thomas-parr

|archive-date=11 April 2015

|url-status=dead

|last=Erza

|first=Dwi

|access-date=15 May 2015

}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Harfield

|first=Alan

|title=Bencoolen: The Christian Cemetery and the Fort Marlborough Monuments

|isbn=978-0-907799-10-8

|publisher=British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia

|location=London

|year=1985

}}

• {{Cite web

|title=Tugu Thomas Parr

|trans-title=Thomas Parr Monument

|language=Indonesian

|publisher=Center for the Preservation of Cultural Properties, Jambi

|url=http://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/bpcbjambi/2014/01/24/tugu-thomas-parr/

|date=24 January 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518092525/http://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/bpcbjambi/2014/01/24/tugu-thomas-parr/

|archive-date=18 May 2015

|url-status=dead

|access-date=15 May 2015

|ref={{SfnRef|CPCP 2014}}

}}

• {{Cite web

|title=Tugu Thomas Parr

|trans-title=Thomas Parr Monument

|language=Indonesian

|publisher=Bengkulu Municipal Government

|url=http://www.bengkulukota.go.id/pariwisata_wisata-sejarah_tugu-thomas-parr_pg-122.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081340/http://www.bengkulukota.go.id/pariwisata_wisata-sejarah_tugu-thomas-parr_pg-122.html

|archive-date=4 March 2016

|url-status=dead

|access-date=15 May 2015

|ref={{sfnRef|Bengkulu Municipal Government}}

}}

• {{Cite web

|title=Tugu Thomas Parr, Monumen Rakyat Bengkulu Menolak Ditindas

|trans-title=Thomas Parr Monument, a Monument to the People of Bengkulu who Refused to be Subjugated

|language=Indonesian

|work=Kupas Bengkulu

|url=http://kupasbengkulu.com/tugu-thomas-parr-monumen-rakyat-bengkulu-menolak-ditindas/

|date=18 May 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518084009/http://kupasbengkulu.com/tugu-thomas-parr-monumen-rakyat-bengkulu-menolak-ditindas/

|archive-date=18 May 2015

|url-status=live

|access-date=15 May 2015

|ref={{SfnRef|Kupas Bengkulu 2014}}

}}

{{refend}}

{{Coord|3|47|19.47|S|102|15|2.53|E|type:landmark_dim:30|display=title}}

Category:Bengkulu (city)

Category:Cultural Properties of Indonesia in Bengkulu

Category:Buildings and structures in Bengkulu

Category:Tourist attractions in Bengkulu

Category:1808 establishments in Asia

Category:Monuments and memorials in Indonesia