In 1902, the committee of the Victoria Memorial Fund in
Singapore invited Malacca to participate in its proposal to erect a new town hall in Singapore as a memorial to Queen Victoria who died on 22 January 1901. In response, a meeting was held in Malacca of leading Chinese businessmen on the invitation of Towkay Li Keng Liat, and instead it was decided to erect their own memorial in Malacca. It was noted that the sum of
$1,500 was already available for the purpose, and that it should take the form of a public fountain. Captain Garrard acted as secretary to the fund, and in total approximately $5,000 was collected. The fountain was sent out from London to Malacca in pieces, each numbered, with instructions on how to assemble it at the site, and the erection was carried out by a Mr. Lupton, Superintendent of Works and Surveys at the Public Works Department. The cost of the fountain was about $5,000. The unveiling ceremony took place on 24 May 1905,
Empire Day, led by R. N. Bland in front of a large crowd, and his wife turned on the water with a silver key. In his speech, Bland praised the efforts of Li Keng Liat, whose idea it was to erect the fountain, but who never saw it having died shortly before it was unveiled. == Description ==