History of the Tai Jins’ houses

To reach Smith Point from Flying Fish Cove, there is a short drive up a narrow single lane road. The road hugs the vertical cliffs on one side, with a drop down to the sea on the other. The Island’s only traffic lights are at each end to ensure one doesn’t meet a car coming in the opposite direction. At the end of that short journey, one is rewarded with the landscape opening up to level land revealing a grand two story colonial residence – Tai Jin House. It was once the home and workplace for various District Officers and then from 1958, for Official Representatives and Administrators. The house sits in solitude, majestically high and catching the breezes. No longer a government residence, it’s upper floor now houses a small museum and the ground floor can accommodate functions and exhibitions etc. It is surrounded by maintained lawns and garden shrubbery with magnificent jungled cliffs as a backdrop. With beautiful views across Flying Fish Cove and to the open sea this is indeed a plum location.

However, this cocooned haven, traditionally segregated from the rest of the Island population, was not the intended spot for the District Officer’s house. In fact the current building is not even the original District Officer’s house. And, there was for a brief while, a far grander engineering idea being entertained as an alternative to constructing an ordinary road / track leading up to the house from Flying Fish Cove.

The story starts a year after mining commenced on the Island.

On the 29th September 1900, Lewis Hare Clayton, a civil service officer in his capacity as Commissioner, arrived on Christmas Island for a five day stay. He inspected and later reported on, all aspects of the Island’s operations including worker welfare, health and safety. As part of his report he wrote:

In conjunction with the Manager [Captain Vincent], I selected a site for the proposed quarters for a resident Government Officer, and I wrote a letter to him, a copy of which I enclose, asking him to reserve the site for the purpose.

The “Coffee Garden” referred to above, is now the site of the post office padang.

Accompanying Clayton’s report, was a letter from the Acting Governor J.A. Swettenham to the British Colonial Secretary Mr Joseph Chamberlain. In it Swettenham stated that he was anxious to send an officer to reside on Christmas Island at an early date but this could not be done until a house had been built for him. He had plans prepared for this house that included part of the lower ground floor to be used as a court and office. Swettenham went on to write:

Things moved quickly. In December 1900, the following Singaporean newspaper article appeared:

In moving for a vote of $46,600 for the erection of buildings at Christmas Island, the Colonial Secretary said papers and plans had been laid on the table. The building included a residence for the Officer in charge and an office below, a Chinese Interpreter’s house; a lock-up for ten persons; and quarters for twelve police. The buildings were of a similar character to those erected in the Colony, but would cost more because of the additional freight, and of the greater cost of labour. As he had before said, it was hoped the revenue from the Island would be increased, so that the cost of these buildings would not fall altogether on the Colony.

The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser Weekly 13 December 1900

The motion was agreed to by the Legislative Council.

The same month in newspaper advertisements, tenders were invited for the construction of these buildings.

Clayton, along with a detachment of police left Singapore on the 30th May 1901 on board the colonial steamer “Sea Belle” for Christmas Island. This time he returned as the Island’s first District Officer. And, as Assistant Protector of Chinese Immigrants, he also became the first “Tai Jin” of Christmas Island.

WHO WERE THE TAI JINS?

In the Straits Settlements before WW2, the Chinese would refer to the man who held the title “Protector of Chinese” as “Tai Jin”.

Dr Victor Purcell was the Christmas Island District Officer in 1926. In his book “The Memoirs of a Malayan Official”, he referred to himself as Tai Jin to the Chinese:

“When any clients decided to visit me (which was seldom), I would ask them which of the dignitaries they wished to see. If Chinese, they might well ask to see the tai jin (I being the Assistant Protector of Chinese), in which case I would give them advice on their problem … “

After WW2, with a new era being ushered in, it appears the old colonial title “Tai Jin” fell out of use. However, starting in 1952 the title would make a come back; for a while at least.

Shortly after Clayton’s correspondence to Captain Vincent, the proposed location for the new District Officer’s house changed from the “Coffee Garden” to the current Smith Point site. It would be interesting to know why this change occurred. One of the criteria was that a water source should be close by. Three wells are shown in Flying Fish Cove on very early maps but not at Smith Point. Also, one would have thought access to the Smith Point site would be far more challenging. On the 1st January 1903, Clayton wrote:

Permanent Government buildings were erected during the year, consisting of quarters and office for the District Officer, quarters for the clerk, Sikh police and boatmen, together with a small jail and guard house. The building with the exception of the District Officer’s house and office were occupied in April, while the latter was only just completed at the end of the year. The principal cause for the delay was that the approach to the site selected for the District Office is over some extremely rough and precipitous ground and it was necessary to construct a road before the material could be carried.

Annual Departmental Reports of the Straits Settlements for the year 1902

The delayed construction of the road to the Smith Point site caused some angst. In a 1902 report:

… As to the Road, it is true that the Company undertook to construct it at the joint expense of the Government themselves. But the delay on their part was such that Mr Clayton asked for and obtained the permission of Government to carry out the work. The Company then, through their local Manager, Captain Vincent, intimated their withdrawal from their promise to share the cost, alleging as their excuse that the plan originally agreed upon had been departed from and that the road would be useless to them. The original plan had included a tunnel through the cliff, which was condemned as impracticable by a Government Engineer sent to the island to make a trace of the road. In spite of his declaring that the road was valueless to the Company, the Manager demanded a right of way over it.

Governor Sir F.A. Swettenham, K.C.M.G., Straits Settlements.

Straits Settlements Report No. 36 of 1902

Prior to the construction of the Magistrate’s house at Smith Point, Clayton had been residing temporarily in what was probably far less impressive quarters in Settlement over the road from the goal, police station, kitchen and latrines. No doubt his new abode with proper office space, panoramic views, cool breezes and away from noise and dust was welcomed. From this time onwards, the District Officers of Christmas Island were well and truly separated from (the) hoi polloi.

As an aside, Captain Vincent himself lived in a rather grand two story house with attap roof. It was built between c1899-1900. It was first shown on a 1900 map and labelled “Engineers quarters” as well as on subsequent 1903 and 1905 maps. A 1916 map referred to it as “[the] Big House”.

Returning back to the story – A 1903 map shows the new “Magistrate’s House”. It had a concrete floor, plank walling and a zinc roof. It had a similar layout to the current Tai Jin House ie. Courtroom and office downstairs and accommodation upstairs.

Further additions were later made on the site. In the Blue Book of 1904 there is an expenditure entry for “the erection of stables at the district office” for the grand sum of $34.72.

In those early days, the District Officer had a choice as to how he wished to go down to Settlement. He could go via “Arthur’s Steps“, likely named after one of two early District Officers who bore that name, and boat it across Flying Fish Cove, or by road along the hillside. The photo below shows that the “road” leading to the District Officer’s house was in reality, a glorified track and not, as we imagine today, a bituminised road. In 1918 new fill was required to support it. Heavy rainfall or rockfalls could easily render this “road” unpassable. This gives an indication as to the difficulties that were faced in transporting all the building materials up to the house site some 16 years earlier. Even the 1903 map above refers to this track as a “road”.

This house would be used by the various District Officers in the proceeding years, but by 1936 its fate was sealed. An advertisement was placed in a Singaporean newspaper by the Rural and Marine branch of the Public Works Department. It was calling for tenders to demolish the District Officer’s House and to re-build a new one in its place. The wooden house was now 34 years old and may well have been in a deteriorating state.

In 1937 the new house was completed and came in just under budget.

Robert William Home Davies was made the acting District Officer on Christmas Island in 1955 when the current incumbent, Claude McLaren Reid and his wife took leave in the UK. Davies grandson, Chris Main, tells the amusing story of how the intended plans to upgrade the District Officer’s house were changed:

There were some alterations made to the house [Tai Jin / Buck House] during Home’s stay, at the request of the McLaren Reids. The main purpose of this was to add a proper kitchen to the living quarters, which had previously been somewhat improvised. In conjunction with the architect, Home decided to revise the instructions he was given on the required layout, because, in his opinion, he had to ‘plan for the good of the house and not the views of one incumbent’. Not surprisingly, the McLaren Reids were pretty annoyed when they got back!

As mentioned previously, the house was just not an abode for the District Officer (from 1958 Administrator), matters of business and Court were held on the ground floor.

A year after the court case above, drawings were prepared and it’s interesting to see the ground floor layout from that time. A doorway is now indicated next to the Judge’s bench whereas in the photos above there is no doorway.

As the years passed, further additions and improvements on the building, including a cantilevered balcony, were made.

Drawings of the cantilevered balcony also included the 1963 first floor plan of the house.

The earlier European housing on Christmas Island usually had servants’ quarters often connecting to the main house by a covered walkway. The Administrator’s house too had such quarters behind the house but also at a distance away as shown in the drawing below dating from August 1969.

The floor plans of the Gardeners and Cook’s quarters and Store rooms in the drawing above are shown below.

A drawing dating the 10th August 1970 shows the existing layout and elevations of the then “Administrator’s residence.”

Tai Jin House now houses a small museum on the upper floor, but those unable to visit Christmas Island can still explore historical artefacts, coins, ephemera and more at the Christmas Island Virtual Museum.