Duncan George Stewart CMG (22 October 1904 – 10 December 1949) was a British colonial

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and

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. He was mortally wounded in an assassination on 3 December 1949, in

Sibu Sibu is a landlocked city located in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the capital of Sibu District within Sibu Division and is situated on the island of Borneo. Covering an area of , the city is positioned at the conf ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

Early life

Stewart was born in Witkleifontein on 22 October 1904 in the

Transvaal Colony The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...

(now part of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

) to expatriate Britons who were posted in that area and was educated in England at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

and

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

, where he graduated with a BA. Agnes Newton Keith, ''White Man Returns'' (1951), pp. 282, 283

Career

Stewart joined the Colonial Administration Service (CAS) in 1928, and held positions as district officer at Oya Territory, Nigeria, colonial secretary in the Bahamas, secretary of finance in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, and secretary of the governorial conference in South Africa. He was married and had three children. His service record was viewed as exceptional, and because of that, he was later announced as the new governor and commander-in-chief for Sarawak by Lord Listowel, minister of state for colonial affairs, to replace

Charles Arden-Clarke Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (25 July 1898 – 16 December 1962) was a British colonial administrator. Biography Arden-Clarke was educated at Rossall School. He was the Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswan ...

Assassination

Stewart had only been the Governor of Sarawak for a couple of weeks and was on his first official visit in the colony, to the town of

on 3 December 1949. According to press reports of the event he was warmly welcomed by large crowds, who all seemed to be enjoying themselves. After inspecting an honour guard and meeting a group of school children, a youth (Moshidi bin Sedek) walked towards him holding a camera claiming to want a picture. As Stewart posed, another youth,

Rosli Dhobi Rosli Dhobi (18 March 1932–2 March 1950) also Rosli Dhoby, was a Sarawakian nationalist from Sibu of mixed Malaysian Malays, Malay-Melanau people, Melanau descent during the British crown colony era in that state. He was a member leader of ...

stabbed him. Both youths were immediately arrested. Despite suffering a deep stab wound, Stewart is reported to have tried to carry on until blood began to seep through his white uniform. He was then quickly rushed away for treatment in

Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...

but died a few days later after being flown to the

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. The two youths were convicted of the murder and hanged with two other conspirators. Both were believed to be members of the anti-cession movement, and dedicated to restoring Anthony Brooke to the throne of Sarawak. In reality they were both from a political group agitating for union with newly independent

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Documents released in the late 20th century indicate that the British Government knew that Brooke was not involved, but chose not to reveal the truth of the matter so as not to provoke Indonesia. It had recently won its

war of independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

from the

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, and the UK was already dealing with the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

to the north-west.

Awards and honours

In 1948, Stewart was made a companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Duncan Governors of Sarawak 1904 births South African people of British descent 1949 deaths Assassinated British people Assassinated governors and heads of sub-national entities 20th-century governors Deaths by stabbing in Malaysia Administrators in British Borneo South African people of English descent British people murdered abroad British people in Mandatory Palestine Colonial secretaries of the Bahamas People from colonial Nigeria Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford People educated at Winchester College Expatriates in Transvaal Colony People assassinated in the 20th century British expatriates