The Search Continues

As I searched for the history of Alexander Hare I was fascinated by the costume of the Cocos Islander Community, that looked like the traditional costume of the French, Spaniards, Dutch, Portuguese and Scottish. Alexander started his career at Lisbon, Portugal as a Clerk but later transferred to Calcutta India, also as a Clerk with the British East India Company.

From India Hare moved to Malacca as a successful Trader and traded with Pontianak and Banjarmasin as well as the other parts of Borneo and the Philippines and China when he was with the East India Company

Hare was appointed the British Resident at Banjarmasin in the year 1811 when Thomas Stamford Raffles was appointed Lt Governor for Java after he won the Java War. Hare was appointed upon the recommendation of the Sultan of Banjarmasin who was impressed with his personality that had helped solved many issues facing the Sultan. Hare was also given a piece of land by the Sultan at Maluka River in Banjarmasin and Hare developed it as a place for himself that had its own currency called 'Doit Alexander Hare'. It did not last long as Banjarmasin had to be returned to the Dutch as a result of the Napoleonic war in Europe and the Britsh was given Bencoolen, now Bengkulu, Sumatera in return and Raffles was appointed Lt Governor in the year 1816.

Hare had to leave too as he was appointed by Raffles,the founder of Singapore of whom they had been close associates since the days with the East India Company in India. Hare had helped in the Java war. Hare ships include the one called 'Malacca' and 'Borneo'.

'Malacca' was detained by the Sultan of Pontianak who claimed that they had not paid enough duties for the goods they had brought in and the ship was captained by Burn.

Hare left for East Java after he was asked to leave Banjarmasin in 1816 but later chose Betawi before Lombok Island and later Bengkulu and Cape Town South Africa where he had bought himself a farm at south Kapsaad and left for Cocos Islands in the year 1826 a year before John Culiness Ross that had arrived in the year 1827. John had founded the island before that when Hare had asked him to look for a new place for him to live and John was the captain for his ship called 'Borneo' that brought the people to Cocos Islands from Banjar Kuala, Banjarmasin.

He arrived at Cocos from Cape Town in a new ship which he bought after he sold his farm at Kapsaad. He could not get along with the church and the local authorities that did not like his practise of buying the slaves at the slaves market.