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The Residence Of Towkay Leong Tian, Rose Villa
These two photographs show the mansion of Towkay Leong Tian, a miner and philanthropist in Ipoh. The house was bought in 1928 from Chung Thye Chong and demolished in the early 80's. At the time of purchase the house had been leased, since 1922, to the Kinta Freemasons Lodge as their headquarters, their own custom-built premises having been leased to the government. Regarding Rose Villa, it is recorded in the records of Kinta Lodge that "after considerable alterations and the installation of electric light, the brethren are most comfortably housed ....". If this is true it must have been one of the earliest buildings which had electricity (supplied from one of the mines) as 1930 is the recorded date for the installation of electricity in Ipoh Town.
In the left hand photograph the house can be seen to be a large building in spacious grounds. On the gate pillar are the Chinese characters for Leong Tian.
In front of the house in the right hand picture can be seen Wong Nyan Kim and her adopted daughter Mary Leong Wee Yoon. Nyan Kim was the wife of the second son of Leong Tian, Leong Swee Seong (1922-1997)
To read more about Rose Villa, click here.
To see a 1982 photograph of Rose Villa, click here.
To read more about Towkay Leong Tian, click here.