8 Facts : A Brief History of Fraser’s Hill

Fraser’s Hill. Not much is known about this lovely little place. Many have come and are rejuvenated by this expanse of green, where rolling hills meets blue cloudless skies, where meandering paths are lined with ageless trees and the delicate cold air awakens the senses . So, how did it all begin? Read on and find out.

#1 : Scottish Pioneers

Fraser’s Hill is named after Louis James Fraser, a solitary Scottish pioneer, who discovered rich tin deposits on top of the hill and set up a trading post there in the 1890s. Mr Fraser vanished without a trace 25 years later while out for a walk in Fraser’s Hill.

#2 : Déjà Vu

Fraser’s disappearance was echoed 50+  years later by the infamous disappearance of American businessman, Jim Thompson (known as the Thai Silk King) in Cameron Highlands. In a case of history repeating itself, Jim Thompson was also never found. 

FRASER’S HILL TOWN CENTRE

#3 : Colonial Hill Station

Fraser’s Hill was officially developed into a hill station by the British colonists in 1919 after a British search party investigating the disappearance of Louis James Fraser discovered the ideal cool breezes, the wild roses, the streams, waterfalls, firs and ferns of a distant England in Fraser’s Hill. Hill stations were first developed by the British colonists in India as a means of escaping the suffocating Indian summer heat and soon became popular holiday resort towns.

#4 : Summer Retreat

Fraser’s Hill – actually seven hills -, provided welcome relief for the British expatriate community from the simmering heat of Kuala Lumpur, 75 kilometres to the south. The British were fond of playing golf and a 9-hole golf course was built in 1925 atop Louis Fraser’s former tin mines by Frank Hemmant, a well-known golf course designer.

#5 : Japanese Occupation

During the Japanese Occupation of Malaya (1941-1945), Fraser’s Hill played an important role as a Japanese war communication centre. The ruins of a Japanese communication shed is said to still exist today in the dense forest along Hemmant’s Trail.

#6 : Guerrillas in the Mist

In the weeks after Japanese forces left at the end of World War 2, Fraser’s Hill was occupied by the guerrillas of the MPAJA (Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army) who emerged from the surrounding jungle. But not for long, as British officers with lorry-loads of Indian troops arrived some 3 weeks later to relieve the guerillas.

INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF THE AMBUSH

#7 : Ambush in the Hills

Sir Henry Gurney, British High Commissioner for British Malaya was ambushed and killed in 1951 by communist guerrillas while travelling up to Fraser’s Hill via the Kuala Kubu Bahru route. He was with his wife and aide in the car when his black chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce was riddled by bullets from communist machine gun fire. Miraculously, his wife and aide survived.

#8 : Little England

Fraser’s Hill is known as Little England because the idyllic hills and chilly weather reminded the British colonists of the English countryside and they sought to mimic the home they had left behind. Tudor-inspired bungalows with fireplaces were built, flora & fauna indigenous to their homeland were planted and long winding lanes reminiscent of English country roads were paved. Till today, Fraser’s Hill retains the charm of a quaint English village, a cool haven high up on the Titiwangsa.