History of Victoria Institution
Victoria Institution, the premier school of the Malay Peninsula, has a proud past and a glorious history. It was opened 106 years ago on the bank of the Klang River in High Street, Kuala Lumpur. It is the oldest English school in the Malay States and at first provided instruction to boys between the ages of 6 and 19. In 1929 the school was moved to its present site on Petaling Hill, and was the first purely secondary school to be built in the Federated Malay States. Over 10,000 boys have been educated at the school, and have won names for themselves in all the professions, planting, mining and in the humbler walks of life.
As its name indicates, the Victoria Institution is a memorial school. Toward the end of 19th century, the general public realised that there is a need to have proper and better education facilities for the local children in the state of Selangor. Among those who are concerned to this social issue are Kapitan China Yap Kwan Seng, Towkay Loke Yew and Thamboosamy Pillay. They voiced their opinions to Resident British W.H. Treacher with the hope that the excess fund raised for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 will be used for this purpose. Resident General, Sir Frank Swettenham, encouraged their project but stated that the fund, which only amounted to $3,188, was too small for a suitable permanent memorial.
A second appeal for money has been carried out and managed to collect $10,753. The government of Selangor contributed over $7,000, bringing the total money available to $21,291. One of the prominent figure who contributed to the fund was Sultan Abdul Samad with an amount of $1,100.
In June 1893 a meeting presided over by Mr. W. H. Treacher, British Resident, decided to use the money for educational purposes, preferably by building a boys’ school. Finally, a scheme was approved to build an institution to be run on lines similar to those of Raffles Institution in Singapore. The scheme was also warmly supported by Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Governor of the Straits Settlements. Mr. Treacher was elected president of twelve trustees appointed to manage the institution.
Victoria Institution was established on 14th August 1893 when Lady Treacher laid the foundation stone. History of V.I. began on 15th January 1894, when it started to accept 8 students and 4 teachers including a temporary headmaster, Reverend Haines. Initially, all the students were stationed in a P.W.D Bungalow while waiting for the completion of Victoria Institution. Then it was moved to a bigger building with attap roof and plank walls situated at the junction of Foch Avenue and High Street (Jalan Bandar). Finally, the only block of school building and the headmaster residential were completed on 1st July 1894. It was located on a land with a size of one acre near High Street (Jalan Bandar) just beside the Klang River. Mr. Hepponstall was acting Headmaster pending the arrival of Mr. Bennett Eyre Shaw from England to take up the appointment. On 30th July 1894, Mr. Bennett officiated the new school with the initial number of 115 students from I-IV. The school fee was $1 per month.
The Victoria Institution was very fortunate in securing the right man to be its first Headmaster. As the first Headmaster of V.I., Mr. Bennett Eyre Shaw was the person who has laid the educational foundation and created a tradition for Victoria Institution, and to plan and build a school, which has always been in the forefront of educational progress in Malaya. Bennett Shaw was a man of strong character, lofty ideals and great practical gifts. Few individuals have done so much for this country as did Bennett Shaw. To the Victoria Institution of today, he remains a legendary figure. Bennett Shaw planned an education for life and not merely for examination; his main aim was to produce good citizens. So without neglecting academic standards, he introduced and developed an amazing variety of school activities designed to give a balanced education. The first V.I. Sports Day was held in 1898. When Mr. Shaw retired in 1922, after 28 years’ successful labour there were five blocks of school buildings housing a total of 1,000 students in classes from Primary to School Certificate.
The Klang River flooded in Kuala Lumpur in November 1902, and again in December 1911. As the floods occurred during holidays, the work of the school was not interrupted. On March 8th, 1917, and October 27th, 1918, the river reached the ground floor classrooms and the school was closed for several days.
The threat of flooding and the noise from nearby workshops induced the trustees to look for a more suitable site. In 1919, the Government gave a valuable piece of land, about 23 acres in Batu Road, and plans for a school to accommodate 1,000 boys were drawn up. The contract for the building was ready for signature when the Town Planner condemned the site. The rubber slump prevented further action for several years. In 1921 three additional class-rooms were built in a temporary building to cope with the pressure of numbers.
Mr. R. J. H. Sidney was the second Headmaster and served for three years from 1923 to 1926. His relatively short period as Headmaster was marked by improvement of the old and tried methods and the introduction of new ones, most of which have stood the test of time. He introduced the first Speech Day in 1923, started the school magazine and the prefect system, and changed the school hours from morning and afternoon sessions to the present system of one long morning session. He agitated for a new building and also urged that the Victoria Institution should concentrate on secondary education only. These aims were achieved less than three years after he left.
On September 1st, 1925, the Victoria Institution ceased to be a semi-private school and was taken over completely by the Government. Two years later, on September 1st, 1927, the foundation stone of the present building on Petaling Hill was laid by the Sultan of Selangor. The building was opened in March 1929 by Sir Hugh Clifford, the High Commissioner, and the ceremony was witnessed by the first Headmaster, Mr. Shaw, who had returned to Malaya as a guest of the Old Boys for four months. In the new school, teaching was confined to secondary classes containing about 500 boys. A swimming pool with spring boards, steps for high diving, shower baths and circulated chlorinated water was opened on 10th June, 1938. It was used by most schools in Selangor. Pupils of the V.I. receive swimming instruction as part of the normal curriculum.
During the war, the books, equipment, laboratory apparatus, and in fact almost everything except the building, were lost or destroyed. The Japanese in Malaya signed the document of surrender in the School Hall on 12th September, 1945, and the photos of the historic occasion are a proud possession of the school. The Victoria Institution carried on after the war for a few months in Batu Road School and then Maxwell Road School, returning to its proper home in September 1946.
Two highlights of post-war history can be mentioned. First, the watch bell of H.M.S. Malaya, a battleship built in 1913 at a cost $25,000,000 paid by the people of Malaya, was given to the school. It was formally presented on the second anniversary of Malaya Victory Day, 12th September, 1947, and was received by His Excellency Sir Edward Gent. It now hangs high above the entrance porch of the school. Second, in 1949, the Rt. Hon. Mr. Anthony Eden, at present Britain’s Foreign Secretary, opened the new school library which has room for 10,000 books and seating accommodation for over 80 boys, and also unveiled the War Memorial dedicated to masters and old boys who laid down their lives in the two World Wars. The officials visits to the school of Mr. Ivor Thomas in 1946, Mr. James Griffiths in 1950, and of Sir Gerald and Lady Templer in 1953 emphasise the esteem in which the school is held.
In 1957, V.I. saw the officiating of two more new buildings, one form six block and one hostel block for students from other states. Toward the end of the same year, V.I. library became the first school library in Malaya to be equipped with air-conditional system. In 1960, a study room equipped with air-conditional system has been built behind the school hall.
A scout den that was built from the fund contributed by the students has been officiated in 1976 by Tan Sri Murad. In 1981, a block of new building to cater the form 1 and 2 students as well as a new hostel block has been completed.
In 1991, V.I. athletics received a big boost when a synthetic running track and field event facilities were laid on the school field in conjunction of the 1991 Asian Track and Field Championship. The track cost $400,000 is indeed an invaluable gift as a result of the Asian Track and Field championship. It will be the only school in the country, which can boast of a synthetic running track of recognised quality.
V.I. welcome its first headmistress in the history of V.I., Pn. Robeahtun Bt. Dato’ Haji Ahmad Damanhuri in mid of 1992. This is something very unique and special because never before a lady became the head of the school since its establishment in 1893. V.I. Museum, which was founded in 1989, received a new face in conjunction with the 100 years celebration when a newly designed and decorated room was officiated by Mr. Gnanalingam on 11th August 1993. The museum is used to exhibit the various historic items of the school since 1893.
The Old Boys have always a prominent part in the affairs of the school, just as they have won fame or distinction in all walks of life. They have donated many prizes and trophies and supplied many amenities to the school.
On 14 August 1993, Victoria Institution celebrated its 100th anniversary and it is considered as one of the oldest school in Malaysia. The Victoria Institution is a symbol of our generation’s concern for posterity. May it continue to maintain and broaden its traditions and sent forth, in the future as in the past, men of character and ability who will prove themselves true Malaysian citizens and leaders along the path of progress of the State and the country.
Source: THE VICTORIAN 93, VI school magazine. Some of the facts were originally written in Bahasa Malaysia and translated into English for the purpose of this homepage.
Page Design by Melvin, 1999