Robert McEwen Little

Robert McEwen Little was a government administrator in North Borneo (present day Sabah) for the North Borneo Chartered Company.

Biography R. M. Little was born in British Singapore in 1860, the son of a doctor in the city there.

In Sandakan on 14 February 1883, Little entered into the Cadet Service of North Borneo as a Treasury Clerk. After several months, he was appointed as the Cadet-in-Charge of the Gaya-Papar District.

Puroh Expedition

When the first major inland expedition of the British North Borneo Constabulary – known as the Puroh Expedition – was undertaken by Alexander Mortier de Fontaine against the uprising force in the villages of Puroh and Gana, Little joined the expedition with G. L. Davies.

In January 1884, Little graduated from the Cadet Service and entered into the Civil Service of North Borneo, becoming Magistrate for Province Keppel and the Assistant Resident for the West Coast Residency. He spent the remainder of the decade as an Assistant Resident stationed throughout North Borneo, at Darvel Bay and Province Dent. The reason for his journey, though, was to receive the surrender and submission of several local tribes that had recently rebelled against the government through the Planting of the Stone.

In May 1891, he was appointed Acting Resident of the West Coast Residency, and in February 1892 he was appointed Resident of the West Coast Residency.

In 1890, Little went to England to rest and recuperate from his wounds, where he was mostly confined to his home there.

In October 1897, Little was hearing a case in the courthouse at Kudat when an earthquake stuck and the building had to be evacuated.

In 1897, Little married his stepmother's niece through an arranged marriage.

In 1898, Little moved to Labuan where he was appointed Resident. While in Labuan, on 23 September 1898, his wife gave birth to a son. The year after, Little was made Deputy Governor of Labuan, and was made one of three Commissioners for North Borneo.

Gaya Island Attack In 1899, Mat Salleh launched an attack on Gaya Island. Little joined the expedition against Salleh there.

In 1902, he was appointed the Resident of Province Alcock at Kudat.

In 1903, Little joined A. B. C. Francis and Buchanan Smith in the pursuit of Si Ongga, the rebel leader who murdered George Graham Warder, the District Officer of Tindang Batu, at Marak Parak.

In 1904, Little arrested Li Min. Li Min was released from prison later that year when the charges were dropped after a campaign by the Straits Echo, the Straits Times and the Straits Budget.

Return to England and death Little was appointed a Judge of the High Court in August 1904. In March 1905, he requested leave and sailed aboard steamship to the UK.

Written works

Report on a Jouney from Tuaran to Kian, province Keppel, and ascent of Kinabalu mountain, Borneo, Published in The Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1887