Charles Burton Buckley

Charles Burton Buckley (b. 30 January 1844 - d. 22 May 1912, London, England) was a prominent resident in colonial Singapore.  He bought over and revived the Singapore Free Press, which had ceased publication in 1869, and was the  author of An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, an account of the history of Singapore.  He was also the adviser to the Sultan of Johore.  Buckley Road, near Newton Circle, was named after him.

Early Life
Buckley came from a family of ten children.  He was educated at Winchester College but was unable to attend university due to his poor health.  When William Henry Read, who headed A. L. Johnston & Company in Singapore, offered him a job, he decided to head for the warmer climate. 

Career
Buckley arrived in Singapore in 1864, at the age of 20, and began working for A. L. Johnston & Company.  In 1875, he left for Chendras Gold Mine near Mount Ophir but soon returned to Singapore to study law and worked as Attorney-General Thomas Braddell's assistant.  He then became a partner of Rodyk and Davidson, a law firm established in 1877.  When Rodyk and Davidson were made solicitors of the Sultans of Johore, Buckley became the confidential adviser to Sultan Abu Bakar.  In 1899, he became a member of the Johore State Council.  Subsequently, after Buckley retired from Rodyk and Davidson in 1904, he was appointed as honorary Financial and General Adviser to the Johore Government.

Singapore Free Press
In 1884, Buckley acquired the Singapore Free Press, which had been Singapore's leading newspaper until it stopped publication in 1869.  Despite the fact that the newspaper business was deemed not profitable due to the small English-speaking community, Buckley went on to revive the Singapore Free Press.  At the same time, he started a history column in the newspaper with materials from the first series of the Singapore Free Press gathered by Braddell, J. D. Vaughan and Buckley himself.  The weekly newspaper was very well received and the history column generated great interest.  In 1887, Buckley converted the Singapore Free Press to a daily newspaper and expanded the history column.  In 1902, Buckley published the renowned An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, which relied much on materials from the Singapore Free Press which he had collected over a span of nearly 20 years. The book provided an account of Singapore's early years from its founding by the East India Company up to its attainment of the Crown Colony status.                  

Social and Public Life
Buckley had a keen interest in acting, music and cricket.  He performed in many amateur theatricals and concerts, and was also a talented stage-manager.  When the Amateur Musical Society in Singapore was formed in 1865, Buckley gave a solo performance at its opening concert in the Town Hall.  He was in the society's committee and was actively involved in many of its productions.  Like many other European residents in the colony, Buckley was a cricket enthusiast and frequently went to the field after work.  He was also remembered as the owner of Singapore's first motorcar, a 4.5 horsepower Benz Victoria which he nicknamed "The Coffee Machine".  

Charitable Works
Buckley was passionate about promoting charity for young people and organised many events, such as staging plays for children.  Affectionately called the "Children's Friend", Buckley held Christmas parties for children annually from 1864 to 1911.  Some of these parties were attended by as many as 1,000 children.

Later Years
Buckley stepped down as the honorary Financial and General Adviser to the Johore Government in 1909, though he still maintained close links with the Johore royal family.  In March 1912, he travelled to England with Tunku Ismail, the eldest son of the Sultan of Johore, to arrange for his education in England.  During the trip, Buckley caught a chill from which he never recovered.  He died on 22 May 1912.  After his death, his portrait was hung in the Victoria Memorial Hall.



Author
Joshua Chia Yeong Jia



References
Buckley, C. B. (1984).  An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore 1819-1867 (pp. v-x).  Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)