Journey to the summit of Gunong Bubu
J. E. Tenison Woods published this account in 1884, recording the first documented ascent of Gunong Bubu, the highest peak of Perak’s coast range, undertaken at the request of Sir Hugh Low, the British Resident of Perak. The expedition, conducted in May 1884 with the botanist Revd. B. Scortechini and Mr. C. F. Bozzolo managing a Malay porter party, combined mountaineering with botanical and geographical survey in a landscape previously unexplored by Europeans.
Summary
The narrative follows the party’s route from the mountain garden at Arang Para, approximately 3,000 feet above sea level, through a sequence of steep granite spurs and dense jungle to the summit of Gunong Bubu, nearly 5,600 feet high. The ascent was rendered extraordinarily difficult by precipices of bare granite, close jungle that obscured all visibility, and persistent heavy rain. Woods describes the climbing in vivid terms—creeping under roots, climbing trees to reach ledges, and navigating by barometer alone when the forest canopy hid all landmarks (pp. 278–279). The party made a trial ascent on 23 May and a full summit camp on 27 May, during which they erected signal fires at both ends of the crest ridge and were answered by fires from settlements on both the Perak and Larut river sides (p. 282).
The botanical observations form a significant thread throughout. Woods and Scortechini recorded Matonia pectinata as new to Perak, previously known only from Java and Mount Ophir near Malacca, along with Fagraea auriculata, a second proteaceous species for the state, and summit vegetation including Leptospermum flavescens and Leucopogon—both of Australian affinity—alongside Nepenthes, Rhododendron, and a coniferous tree tentatively identified as Dacrydium elatum (pp. 276, 279–280). The summit flora was described as stunted, gnarled, and carpeted in moss, with Lycopodium nutans and Usnea barbata in profusion.
The return journey included an exploration of the upper Kangsa River, whose course was previously unknown. Woods describes descending a series of cascades totalling approximately 1,100 feet by crossing fifteen fallen trees bridging the gorge, some half-rotten and all over waterfalls where a slip would have been fatal (pp. 284–285). The party also noted a large cascade audible from camp but unreachable due to the steepness of the descent, and recorded fish species and a peculiar prawn from the Kenas River pools.
Key Findings
- Gunong Bubu’s highest summit was recorded at nearly 5,600 feet, with the crest forming a narrow ridge approximately half a mile long, sloping upward to the north (pp. 275, 280).
- The lowest temperature recorded on the summit during the night of 27–28 May was 58°F, accompanied by heavy rain and strong easterly wind from 4 A.M. (p. 283).
- Matonia pectinata was recorded for the first time from Perak at 5,000 feet; the species was previously known only from Java and Mount Ophir near Malacca (p. 279).
- On a granite pinnacle beyond the summit, Scortechini and Bozzolo found a small pile of stones, a flagstaff, and the remains of a flag, attributed to a surveying expedition under Captain Speer (p. 281).
- The upper Kangsa River descends in a series of cascades totalling approximately 1,100 feet, crossed by fifteen fallen-tree bridges during the return journey (p. 284).
- Signal fires lit at both ends of the crest were answered by fires from Sengang, Kwala Kangsa, Kota, and Matang, confirming visibility across the entire Perak valley for a distance of fifty to sixty miles (p. 282).
Conclusion
Woods concludes that the view from the summit of Gunong Bubu is “one of the finest imaginable,” combining rivers, mountains, dense forests, open plains, the distant sea, and unexplored interior forests into a scene of “wonderfully varied beauty” (p. 282). The account serves as both a geographical record of a previously unascended peak and a botanical survey that extended the known flora of Perak, while the exploration of the upper Kangsa River added a new hydrological feature to the colonial map of the state.
Context
- Tenison Woods was a botanist and naturalist employed in the Straits Settlements and Perak during the period of British administrative control; the expedition was commissioned by the Resident, Sir Hugh Low, reflecting the integration of scientific exploration into colonial governance.
- The account draws entirely on the author’s field journal and the observations of his companions; no prior archival or published sources on Gunong Bubu are cited, consistent with the claim that no record of earlier exploration existed (p. 275).