Established in 1786, this is the first cemetery to be used after Captain Francis Light founded the British settlement in Penang. It served as the primary burial ground for the European community until 1892, when it was closed to new burials. The site is the final resting place of many influential figures, most notably Francis Light himself, as well as many early governors and the founders of Penang’s oldest schools and churches. The inscriptions on the tombs tell tragic stories of the harsh conditions faced by early settlers, including many young lives lost to tropical diseases like malaria and the 1818 cholera epidemic. Today, it is protected as a Grade 1 Heritage Site.