Affected by the 8 lane highway is this simple looking tomb at Hill 4, Section C, with the Land Transport Authority marker number 2547. At first glance, it does not seem odd, but on closer inspection, the tomb inscription is in Dutch and the name of the person buried there is Wiesje De Haay, a baby girl that died 4 months after birth.
Hier rust
It is one of two Dutch inscribed tombs that we seen in Bukit Brown and unfortunately both are affected by the road. What is different however is this one as a clear Dutch name.
Based on the burial registrar, not much leads other than stating that the plot no is 205 and that she was 4 months old when she died on 5th December 1937 and interned the following day on the 6th. The nationality is stated as "Chinese". A mystery indeed, waiting for someone out there to reveal and it has been slowly unwrap.
The name of the child in the burial record is listed as Wisa binte Hwa Haay or translated to English, Wisa daughter of Hwa Haay. A chinese family probably who lived in Dutch controlled Indonesia.
Reader contribution (27 September 2012)
A reader of this article by the name of Nienke Nauta, kindly shared with me that in her research, there was a man named Hendrik Wilem de Haay (born in 1902 in Salatiga, Indonesia) and married a local girl called Ama. They eventually went back to Netherlands and lived in a small city of Harlingen, north of Holland.
reference: http://resourcessgd.kb.nl/SGD/19641965/PDF/SGD_19641965_0002552.pdf
Are this the parents of this little girl?
The other dutch inscribed tomb was of Mr Tan Tang Hoaj, stake number 960.
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| Wiesje De Haay |
Hier rust
Here rest
Onze kleine lieveling
Our little darling
Wiesje De Haay
diep betreurd door
Deeply mourned by
Haar Ouders
Her Parents
06-12-37
06 December 1937
It is one of two Dutch inscribed tombs that we seen in Bukit Brown and unfortunately both are affected by the road. What is different however is this one as a clear Dutch name.
Based on the burial registrar, not much leads other than stating that the plot no is 205 and that she was 4 months old when she died on 5th December 1937 and interned the following day on the 6th. The nationality is stated as "Chinese". A mystery indeed, waiting for someone out there to reveal and it has been slowly unwrap.
The name of the child in the burial record is listed as Wisa binte Hwa Haay or translated to English, Wisa daughter of Hwa Haay. A chinese family probably who lived in Dutch controlled Indonesia.
Reader contribution (27 September 2012)
A reader of this article by the name of Nienke Nauta, kindly shared with me that in her research, there was a man named Hendrik Wilem de Haay (born in 1902 in Salatiga, Indonesia) and married a local girl called Ama. They eventually went back to Netherlands and lived in a small city of Harlingen, north of Holland.
reference: http://resourcessgd.kb.nl/SGD/19641965/PDF/SGD_19641965_0002552.pdf
Are this the parents of this little girl?
The other dutch inscribed tomb was of Mr Tan Tang Hoaj, stake number 960.
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