Emily Sadka

Emily Sadka
Born 1919
Singapore
Died 1968
Education

BA, St Hilda's College

Ph.D, Australian National
Alma mater

St. Hilda's College, Oxford

Australia National University
Occupation Historian / Professor
Known for Research about Malaysia
Denomination Sephardic
Relatives

Sassoon Samuel Sadka (father) Sarah Sadka (mother)

Moshe Sadka (great uncle)
Awards

British Malayan Queen's Scholarship

Carnegie Grant

Emily Sadka (c1919–1968) was a historian and researcher specialising in the Political History of the Malayan region and taught this at the University of Malaya (Singapore) and in Australian Universities.[1]

Early life

Known variously as Emma Sadka and Emily Sadka, she was the eldest daughter of Sassoon Samuel Sadka and his wife Sarah, Jews originating from Baghdad.[2] She was the grandniece of Moshe Sadka, the Chief Rabbi of Baghdad,[3] and the cousin of Singapore Chief Minister, David Marshall[4]

She studied at the Raffles' Girls' School from 1928 to 1935, then joined the special Scholarship Class at Raffles Institute, in 1935, at the age of 16. She was underage for the examination at that time and sat again the following year. In December 1937, it was announced that she had won the British Malayan Queen's Scholarship that provided pass to and back from England, together with the cost of education at Oxford, Cambridge, or any other university, for up to four years. The Straits Times and Free Press headlines read, "Miss Sadka S.S. Winner," and "Jewish Girl Wins Queen's Scholarship." She had been the first Jewish woman to have won this scholarship. Other winners were Lim Chong Eu (18) of the Penang Free School who would go on to become Chief Minister of Penang, Chin Kim Hong (19) of the King Edward VIII Sachool in Taiping and Mohamed Ismail bin Mohamed Ali (19) of Victoria Institution in Selangor.[5][6] She read modern history at St. Hilda's College, Oxford where she obtained a B.A. (First Class Hons.) in History in 1941.[2][7]

She learnt Russian and the Scandinavian languages and in 1942, won a Carnegie Grant to carry out research in Soviet Administration in the former Czarist colonies of Central Asia. In 1946 she had attended the London County Council evening classes in literature and current events and gave a series of talks on the Soviet Union for the Marylebone Literary Institute. She had also served on the committee of the International Youth Centre in London. By September 1947, she was in Australia on break, her work on the subject was nearing completion, and she was planning the presentation of her Ph.D. thesis to take place in England in 1948.[7]

Career

University of Malaya (Singapore)

She joined the University of Malaya (Singapore) as Assistant Lecturer in August 1951.[8]

In June 1953, she was elected Secretary of the Malayan Historical Society (Singapore) under Professor Cyril Northcote Parkinson.[9]

Sieveking Expedition

In August 1953, the only woman in the team, Sadka, having resigned, left on an expedition headed by Acting Director of Museums Dr. G. de G. Sieveking, to investigate the ancient settlement of Kota Batu, a site at Johore Lama, up the Johore River, and probe the remains of two boats embedded in the river's banks.[10]

Pieces of 17th to 18th century Chinese pottery were found among the remains of one of the boats. A local in the area showed them a bowl of Siamese origin that had been found filled with gold coins. According to that owner the coins were subsequently melted down and the gold, sold.[11]

Besides Sadka and Sieveking, the expedition also comprised Dr. Paul Wheatley of the University of Malaya, Dr. C. A. Gibson-Hill of the Raffles MuseumTony, Beamish of Radio Malaya, M. W. F Tweedie of the Singapore Museum, Oswald Theseira of the F.M.S. Museum, Naval Commander-in-Chief (Far East Station) Vice Admiral Sir Charles Lambe, John Senior of the British Army, Wong Lin Ken, Clement Hon, Wang Gung Wu.[12]

The excavation made an important find. This was the first time that the use of masonry in Malay fortifications had been recorded. Of equal importance, the expedition's surveys allowed for more accurate orientation of the internal geography of that settlement. The remains of an ancient Chinese trading ship were also a result of the excavations there.[13]

National Australian University Research Scholarship

Sadka was awarded a research scholarship at the National Australian University in 1954.[14]

The Journal of Sir Hugh Low, Perak, 1877

Sadka believed that Hugh Low, third British resident at Perak, was "one of the greatest of Malaya's administrators," but noted that he had been neglected by writers of Malayan history, with only passing references made in the notes made by Swettenham and Winstedt. At that time his private papers could not be located and much of Perak's official records, and those of the Colonial Secretary's Office in Singapore had been destroyed during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya. The only thing, remaining at that time was the first volume of his handwritten journals, at that time kept at the Federal Secretariat in Kuala Lumpur [and now kept at the National Archives of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur], that spanned his first eight weeks in Perak (19 April to 15 June 1877). Sadka worked on deciphering, and transcribing and correcting the text of this manuscript. It was published, two years later, in 1955.[15]

Discovery of Malayan historical materials in Australia

While carrying out research at the Australian National University, Sadka discovered that there was enough material in Camberra for students to use as a sound basis of Malayan history. She was, at that time, preparing a thesis on "The Residential System of Government in the States of Malaya from 1874 to 1895."[14]

Victoria University (N.Z.)

Sadka then proceeded to New Zealand where she taught at the Victoria University of Wellington. Sadka's undergraduate class in Southeast Asian history was considered innovative for 1958 New Zealand. Historian Anthony John Stanhope Reid (Anthony Reid), who had not previously studied history at school, became interested while at the University. He thereafter obtained a B.Econs. in Economics and History (1960) and M.Hist. (1961).[16]

Australian National University

Having taught there a while, Sadka left New Zealand for Australia and went to Canberra as one of the Australian National University's earliest doctoral candidates. Her thesis, was later revised and published as "The Protected Malay States 1874-1875." She completed her degree in 1966[17] or 1960.[18]

Final work

Emily Sadka died on 19 July 1968 in Perth, Western Australia,[19] the same year her revised thesis in book form, "The Protected Malay States, 1874-1895," was published.[20]

She had been one of the first students at the Australian National University where she worked on the settlement of north-west Western Australia. Three boxes of her handwritten drafts and extracts from various journals are kept at the National Library of Australia,[21] and at the Australian National University's Library.[22]

Publications

1968: The protected Malay States, 1874-1895
1964: The Colonial Office and the Protected Malay States [in Malayan and Indonesian studies : essays presented to Sir Richard Winstedt on his eighty-fifth birthday]
1963: Malaysia: The Political Background [in The Political Economy of Independent Malaya: A Case-study in Development: 28-58]
1962: The State Councils in Perak and Selangor, 1877–1895 [in Papers on Malayan History: 89-119]
1962: Singapore and the Federation: Problems of merger [in Asian Survey 1(11):17–25]
1960: The Residential System in the Protected Malay States, 1874-1895
1957: Constitutional Change in Malaya: A Historical Perspective [in Australian Outlook, 2: 17-30]
1955: The Journal of Sir Hugh Low, Perak, 1877

References

  1. ↑ Silcock, Thomas H., and E. K. Fisk. The Political Economy of Independent Malaya; a Case-study in Development. Berkeley: U of California, 1963: xi. Print.
  2. 1 2 "Review. The Protected Malay States: 1874-1895." The Journal of Asian Studies Vol 30 No. 1 (Nov.) (1970): 237. JSTOR. JSTOR. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2942796>.
  3. ↑ "Queen gives honor to Chief Rabbi's Kin." The Jewish Transcript Seattle, Washington 11 March 1938: 8. Print.
  4. ↑ Tan, Kevin. Marshall of Singapore: A Biography. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2008: 293. Print.
  5. ↑ "Miss Sadka S.S. Winner." The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942) 17 December 1937: 3. Print; "JEWISH GIRL WINS QUEEN'S SCHOLARSHIP." The Straits Times [Singapore] 16 December 1937: 12. Print.
  6. ↑ "Royal Perth Hospital Emeritus Consultant Biographies." Royal Perth Hospital. Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia, Government of Australia., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.rph.wa.gov.au/~/media/Files/Hospitals/RPH/Word%20docs/Emeritus%20Consultant%20Biographies%20vol%202.ashx.>
  7. 1 2 "S'PORE GIRL STUDIES SOVIET SYSTEM." The Singapore Free Press 10 September 1947: 8. Print.
  8. ↑ "University, gets 13 new teachers." The Straits Times [Singapore] 21 August 1951: 5. Print.
  9. ↑ "New historical society chiefs." The Straits Times [Singapore] 23 June 1953: 7. Print.
  10. ↑ "Seven sail to probe mystery of 'Kota Batu.' Woman will help dig among ruins." The Straits Times [Singapore] 11 August 1953: 20. Print.
  11. ↑ "DIGGING UP HISTORY 300-YEAR-OLD FORT FOUND IN JOHORE LAMA." The Straits Times [Singapore] 16 August 1953: 11. Print.
  12. ↑ "Digging up history." The Straits Times [Singapore], 16 August 1953: 11. Print; "Ming from the river's mud." The Straits Times [Singapore] 19 August 1953: 10. Print; "A short-lived kingdom disappears." The Straits Times [Singapore] 9 September 1953: 6. Print.
  13. ↑ "Secrets of an old fort bared." The Straits Times [Singapore] 10 September 1953: 6. Print.
  14. 1 2 "Singapore history." The Singapore Free Press [Singapore] 8 April 1957: 2. Print.
  15. ↑ Sadka, Emily, ed. The Journal of Sir Hugh Low, Perak, 1877. [JMBRAS vol. 27. pt. 4.] Singapore 1955: 5. Print.
  16. ↑ Wade, Geoff, and Tana Li, eds. Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian past. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012: 4. Print.
  17. ↑ Wade, Geoff, and Tana Li, eds. Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian past. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012: 14-15. Print.
  18. ↑ Taylor, Karina. "Authority Records: Sadka, Emily." ANU | Archives Collection. Australian National University, 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://archivescollection.anu.edu.au/index.php/sadka-emily>. ANU Library catalogue http://anulib.anu.edu.au/ (accessed 24 Oct 2012).
  19. ↑ "Deaths." The Straits Times [Singapore] 20 July 1968: 16. Print.
  20. ↑ Sadka, Emily. The Protected Malay States, 1874-1895. Kuala Lumpur: U of Malaya, 1968. Print.
  21. ↑ "Sadka, Emily: Papers, 1940-1958 [manuscript] | National Library of Australia." Papers, 1940-1958 [manuscript] | National Library of Australia. National Library of Australia, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/686043>.
  22. ↑ Australian National University. Library and Sadka, Emma Dr. Emma Sadka collection. Canberra, 1970.
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