Ronald MacPherson (14 July 1817 – 6 December 1869) was a military officer, architect and colonial administrator in

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 ...

. He is well known for the design of the St Andrew Cathedral.

Early life and education

Born in the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

, MacPherson was of

Irish-Scots Irish-Scots or Hiberno-Scots may refer to:: * Ulster Scots people ** Scotch-Irish Americans ** Scotch-Irish Canadians * Ulster Scots dialect * Irish Scottish people See also * Ulster Scots (disambiguation) * Scots (disambiguation) Scots may ...

descent. MacPherson was educated at the East India Company's military college in

Addiscombe Addiscombe is an area of south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Charing Cross, and is situated north of Coombe and Selsdon, east of Croydon town centre, south of Woodside, and west of Shirley. ...

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between 1834 and 1836.

Career

Military

MacPherson passed for the Engineers Corps, but as there were few nominations for Engineers Corps. Instead, he was gazetted as 2nd lieutenant in the Madras Artillery on the 10 June 1836 and arrived at India on the 27 November of the same year. In India, he learnt

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and Hindustani, studied engineering and helped to prepare the Madras Gunnery Tables, which European artillery companies consulted for many years. MacPherson served in the

First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

of 1842 with the Madras Artillery and was later appointed staff officer to the Artillery in the Straits Settlements in 1843.

Colonial Service

MacPherson started his career in Colonial Service as Executive Engineer and Superintendent of Convicts at Penang in 1849. He constructed many useful works such as Police Office and Court of Requests. MacPherson was appointed as the first Captain Commandant in 1854–1856 and later Honorary Colonel in 1864 of the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps. Between 1855 and 1857, MacPherson was also the Executive Engineer and Superintendent of Convicts in Singapore. MacPherson was appointed as the Resident Councillor of Malacca (1858), Penang and Singapore (1860) until 1867 when the British government agreed to establish the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

as a distinct

Crown Colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

as the merchant community and the middle class began agitating against being ruled from British India. MacPherson continued as the 1st Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements until his death in 1869.

St Andrew's Cathedral

During his tenure as Executive Engineer, William Butterworth (Governor of Straits Settlement) initiated MacPherson to design a new church ( St Andrew Cathedral) in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style to replace the demolished St Andrew's Church. The completion of the building was overseen by Major John F. A. McNair, John Bennett and W. D. Bayliss in 1861. A monument cross stands in the south lawn of St Andrew's Cathedral was dedicated to MacPherson.

Death

MacPherson died on 6 December 1869 and was buried at the Old Bukit Timah Cemetery in Singapore.

Legacy

Jalan Klapa was renamed as MacPherson Road in Singapore to commemorate Ronald MacPherson's achievements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacPherson, Ronald 1817 births 1869 deaths Chief secretaries of Singapore Administrators in British Singapore