Malacca ACS had a hard struggle (The Straits Times, 3 July 1949, Page 4)
The Anglo-Chinese School, Malacca,
was started by the Methodist Mission and it opened on 24th January,
1910 with 7 pupils and Rev CC Underhill as headmaster. It occupied a small wooden
house facing the present Malacca Electric Power Station at Kubu Road. The
growth of the school was very slow because of the poor accommodation and the
difficulty of obtaining teachers and pupils in historic and conservative
Malacca. For 8 years the school struggled for its existence under Rev CC Underhill,
Rev Abel Eklund, and Mr Kwan Thian Poh who did very good work until 1917. When
Mr Kwan Thian Poh resigned to become a rubber estate manager, Mr PN Buell took
charge of the school. Mr PN Buell became seriously ill in 1918 and had to
resign. Great difficulty was experienced in getting a headmaster and the
Mission thought of closing down the school.
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| Mr JAP Oswald |
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| Rev WE Horley |
Fortunately the late Rev WE Horley,
MBE succeeded in persuading Mr PT Robinson from the Methodist Boys' School
Kuala Lumpur to succeed Mr Buell. Mr PT Robinson and another teacher Mr Alfred
arrived in Malacca in April, 1918 and reopened the school at the-present Malacca
Wesley Church building. They reorganised the school and carried on the work until
the end of the year. Possibly due to the
lack of interest in an English education for their children on the part of the
parents, the enrolment of the school dwindled to a mere handful. Messrs PT
Robinson and Alfred could not carry on and the pupils were given 2 or 3 months
holidays until the arrival of Mr JAP Oswald who was sent by the late Rev WE
Horley to nurture the school to strength and healthy adolescence.
Mr JAP Oswald arrived in 1919 to
find a third grade grant-in-aid school with an enrolment of 54 and Standard
Four the highest class in school. He reorganised the school with energy and
enthusiasm. To increase the enrolment, he and the two or three members of the
staff went from house to house canvassing for pupils. A monetary gift of 50
cents was given to any pupil who succeeded in bringing a new pupil to school.
In 1920 permission was obtained from Mr John Charnley, the then Senior
Inspector of Schools, Singapore and Malacca to add a higher class to the school
every year until the pupils would be able to sit for the Cambridge Junior and
Senior Certificate Examinations. The enrolment rose to 160 and new teachers
with Standard Seven or Cambridge Junior Certificate qualifications were
recruited from Teluk Anson, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur. Attempts were made to
introduce Malay and Latin into the school curriculum but these met with little
success because the language teachers invariably left the school after a few
months' service in spite of the better terms or conditions of service granted under
a new system of grant-in-aid which came into force in 1920.
Owing to Mr JAP Oswald's able
management the enrolment increased and two shophouses were rented at Kubu Road to
cope up with the demand for admissions. The growth of the school was greatly
helped indirectly by Dr WG Shellabear, the well-known Malay scholar and writer,
and his wife who were responsible for the sending of Rev and Mrs M Dodsworth to
Malacca. The arrival of these two sincere and hardworking missionaries was a turning
point in the history of the school. They contributed a great deal to its growth
and improvement. Due to their initiative a 17 acre-plot of land was acquired
and developed at Tranquerah for the Methodist Mission work in Malacca. The
school was allowed to use part of the property for its playing field for sports
and games. A Malay Hostel was started at Bickley Park at Tranquerah and many
Malay boys from the outlying districts of Malacca came to school. The Hostel buildings
were built by the side of the field and the Malay pupils were the best footballers
in the school at that time. The First Annual School Sports Meet was held in
1923 and Rev EH Rue, a well-known athlete and physical instructor
and the then Senior Inspector of Schools were among those present.
In 1924 Mr JAP Oswald was
transferred to Anglo-Chinese School Parit Buntar and from that year to 1930, the school had 6 headmasters, a new
headmaster every year. In spite of the frequent changes and the necessary adjustments
made every now and then the school made slow but steady progress. Shortage of
qualified teachers to teach secondary classes and lack of suitable accommodation
led to the introduction of co-education for the Cambridge Junior Certificate
Class boys who had to study in the Suydam Giris' School (the present
Methodist Girls' School). The first batch of students passed their Cambridge Junior
Certificate Examinations in 1924 and their Cambridge Senior Certificate Examinations
in 1925; and their success was due to the good tuition given them by Miss Della
Olson the present Headmistress of Lady Treacher Girls' School Taiping, and Mrs
RA Blasdell (then Miss F Shellabear, the youngest daughter of Dr and Mrs WG
SheIlabear). They were at that time the only available qualified Cambridge
Class teachers in the school. The present Principal of the Methodist Girls'
School and the present Principal of the Anglo-Chinese School belong to that
batch of successful candidates.
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| L-R: Ruth (daughter), Mr and Mrs Ho. They had 2 sons and 2 daughters. Ruth became the principal of MGS Ipoh |
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| The Suydam Girls' School (MGS) which later housed MACS until 11941 and then the Methodist English School (MES) |
In 1926 the school moved into the
building formerly occupied by the Suydam Girls' SchooI at Kubu Road. This
solved the immediate problem of accommodation and for the first time, gave the
school a decent building of which the pupils could be proud of. On 10th
January, 1930 Mr Ho Seng Ong, a brilliant scholar and an experienced teacher
from the Methodist Boys' School Kuala Lumpur became the Principal of the school.
He came with his wife who was also an experienced and capable Primary teacher. They
found the school growing but not in very good health. Mr Ho Seng Ong devoted
all his time and energy to his task of reorganising and improving the school.
The building was given a new coat of paint. More teachers were recruited.
Extra-curricular activities were increased in number. Scout Troops were increased to 3 and 2 Cub Packs
were formed. To meet the needs of the pupils, who came from AIor Gajah, Jasin and
Tangkak, a boarding school was started. The teachers were encouraged by Mr Ho
by example and precept to take a greater professional interest in their work by
attending courses and lectures in Biology given by Rev Burr Baughman or by
taking correspondence courses with a view of increasing their efficiency and
academic qualifications. In spite of his many duties and responsibilities Mr Ho
Seng Ong was able to proceed to London for further academic qualifications. He
succeeded in becoming a FRGS and in getting his MA (London) degree. He was an
inspiration to both the staff and the boys. The standard of instruction and the
pupils' achievements increased steadily so that by 1940 the school had already
become one of the best English schools in Malacca producing many students for
admission into the Singapore Colleges or foreign Universities for higher studies.
The success achieved by such students and the contributions they are making to
the community life of the people in the various towns in Malaya are an indication
of the good training they had had in school under Mr Ho Seng Ong's guidance and
encouragement.
At the beginning of 1940
accommodation in the school again proved inadequate, and so a campaign was
launched to raise funds for a new school building. The Methodist Mission agreed
to help and the present site, a 7 acre plot near Bickley Park at Tranquerah was
acquired for the school. The members of the staff gave a month's salary towards
the School Building Fund. The Old Boys, the friends, and the well-wishers of the
school readily and liberally responded to the appeal for funds. With the co-operation
and generosity of many prominent
members of all the communities in Malacca, donation pledges towards the School
Building Fund rose to over forty thousand dollars.
The New School Building project
was thus assured of success; especially when the EducationDepartment promised
to give a dollar to dollar grant-in-aid contribution. The present school
building with 12 full-sized classrooms, a big Assembly Hall, a good-sized Science
Laboratory, a Library, a Carpentry Room, large Tiffin Shed and a bicycle shed
was completed, furnished and fully
equipped by the end of October 1941. The new school building was officially
opened by His Excellency Sir Shenton Thomas, GCMG, OBE on 13th November 1941.
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| A photo of the Malacca ACS in the 1950s |
The new building was occupied for
about 3 weeks when the school closed for the Christmas Holidays on 10th
December. Three weeks later the Japanese entered Malacca and the whole school
was completely looted. Throughout the Japanese Occupation the building was used
by the Japanese as their Headquarters for the training of their Naval Reserves.
The school compound and playground were badly dug up; and air raid shelters and
small ponds in which the Naval Reserves have their training could be seen all
around the building.
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| Mr Goh Choon Lim, an old boy, teacher and principal of MACS |
It was to a building damaged and
stripped of all school furniture that Mr Ho Seng Ong gathered together his
teachers to re-open school on 1st September 1945. Though Mr Ho and
another member of the staff were tortured and imprisoned by the Japanese for pro-Allied
sympathies, the school was fortunate in having all its pre-war members of the
teaching staff when it re-opened on the Liberation. Applications for admission
were overwhelming and temporary desks and benches were made and chairs borrowed
to get the school going. Mr and Mrs Ho Seng Ong were transferred to
Anglo-Chinese School Ipoh on 1st September 1946 and Mr Goh Choon Lim
was appointed to take charge of the school. He is the principal at present.
With rehabilitation grants from both
the Methodist Mission and the Education Department, and with the co-operative
efforts of the staff and the boys, the school has in a great measure been rehabilitated.
It has at present an enrolment of 570 and a staff of 19 and it is looking
forward to becoming a 2 streamed school. The scholastic, the sporting, the
scouting, and the many other extra-curricular activities and achievements of
its students since the Liberation, show that the school is maintaining its
traditions of steady progress and preparing its' pupils to become good and useful
citizens and to play their parts creditably in post-war Malaya.
The following are snapshots of the pages in the MACS Centenary 1910-2010: Dear ACS, We're proud of thee on the above topic.
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