Seen from the framework of a
Historic Urban Landscape (HUL)
This summary has been prepared by The Bendahari,
as a culmination of a community project undertaken in 2024, titled Stories of Praya Lane, in collaboration with the Melaka Portuguese Eurasian Heritage Arts & Cultural Society.
The project was funded by HSBC Malaysia.
Top layer: 1916 map by E.R. Felsinger shows Praya Lane as an offshoot of Hilir Road (now Jalan Parameswara). 'R.C. Chapel' marks the Chapel of St. John the Baptist.
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) Digital Library Gallica, Map (inset) of the Malacca territory, compiled and drawn at the Malacca Survey Office by E. R. Felsinger.
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Bottom layer: Aerial photograph of Praya Lane by Frits Van Walsem, 2024.
Statement of Significance
Praya Lane (from the Portuguese word ‘praia’, meaning ‘beach’) housed a community that grew by the sea, with historic ties tracing back to the Portuguese who arrived in the 16th century. By the 19th century, Praya Lane had emerged as a settlement along the coast of Banda Hilir. Despite spanning no more than 1 km in length, the lane was home to two Catholic chapels.
The community that settled here spoke a localised version of Portuguese patois known as Kristang.
Like the Peranakan Chinese, Indian, and Arab,
The Kristang community is part of the wider Peranakan community—early migrant settlers who made Melaka their home and formed families. Over time, their descendants became ‘children of the land.’
Photographs courtesy of:
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Evelyn Lowe
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Choo Eng Hong
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Philomena Selvamani Anugraham and Nelly Theseira
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The Fernandez Family
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Olga Frois and Jeffrey Low
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The Sim Family
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The Tan Family
Melaka’s rich colonial history began with the Portuguese arrival in 1511. This period saw the intermarriage between Portuguese fidalgos (noblemen) and local women, Orfas del rei (orphan Portuguese girls) sent to Melaka by the Crown to marry high-ranking Portuguese men. The city became a linguistic melting pot, with Portuguese emerging as a common lingua franca among at least 84 spoken languages. Portuguese influence extended to faith and education, with churches, chapels, monasteries, and schools erected throughout the town.
Top left: The marriage of Mr dan Mrs Lazaroo at Praya Lane with family and friends. Photograph contributed by Cecilia Magdalene de Costa.
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Top right: Ancient Gateway leading to the Water at Malacca. Journal of a Voyage, 1811 and 1812, to Madras and China, 1814.
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Bottom: A Metis couple from Batavia, by Georg Franz Müller, Reisebuch des Elsässer Weltreisenden, 1683.
Cultural Significance
Cultural Values
First mentioned in 1514 as 'Banda Hiler', by the 1850s, Praya Lane had become home to a vibrant, ethnically diverse community, including many Portuguese fisherfolk. The neighbouring vicinity also saw the establishment of various religious and educational institutions, including mosques, temples, chapels, and schools, reflecting a multicultural character.
Top left and right: The Wangkang barge seen in front of the Yong Chuan Tian Temple in 1933. Photographs courtesy of Daniel Ang Yam Seng.
Bottom: The orphanage of Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, with Mother Tarcisius and Mother Martha, circa 1940. Photograph courtesy of Audrey Lim and Shirley Sim.
The Chapel of St. John the Baptist.
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Right: Courtesy of Audrey Lim; left: SFI Centenary Issue, page 69, original photograph by Fr. Rene Ashness.
Spiritual Values
There were two chapels in Praya Lane. One being the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, a French Mission Church, which no longer exists today. The other one being the Chapel of the Assumption which still stands.
Chapel of St John the Baptist
A wealthy Portuguese family named de Souza offered a piece of land to the French Mission of St. Francis Xavier, located at the entrance of the future Praya Lane.
In 1865, the Chapel of St. John the Baptist was consecrated by the parish priest, Fr. François Allard. After it was deconsecrated, the chapel was used for a while as a secondary school run by the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from 1947, in the 1950s as kindergarten by the IJS, before it was finally demolished by the parish priest, Fr. R. Lourdes, in the 1960s, to be replaced by a three-storey shophouse, which today houses the Saturday Ice Café downstairs and some apartments upstairs.
Chapel of The Assumption
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From its beginning, the Assumption Chapel has stood as the heart of Praya Lane, and its history continues to be closely intertwined with the community's identity. Established around 1850, the chapel evolved from a modest wooden structure facing the Straits of Melaka to a brick edifice built under the leadership of Fr. Coroado and reoriented towards the main road in 1918.
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Importantly, the Assumption Chapel transcended religious boundaries, serving as a focal point for all Praya Lane residents. Feast days and celebrations drew people together regardless of faith, fostering a strong sense of community spirit and shared cultural identity. Today, services held here still bring back former residents.
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Photographs are courtesy of:
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Elisa Da Costa
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Philomena Selvamani Anugraham and Nelly Theseira
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Sacred Heart Convent Gallery
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Sister Lucy Collection
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Olga Frois and Jeffrey Low
Social Values
​Poverty and social issues plagued the community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Crime, violence, and food insecurity were widespread, leading to the relocation of some residents to a Portuguese Settlement in Ujong Pasir. The 1960s and 1970s saw a rise in drug problems and theft, with some cases of suicide attributed to poor living conditions.
Despite these challenges, the community showed resilience. During the 1969 May 13 Riots, Praya Lane maintained its cohesion, experiencing minimal impact from the nationwide racial tensions. This unity in the face of adversity exemplified the community's strength and solidarity throughout its tumultuous history.
Life Traditions: Marriages, Births, and Baptisms
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Kristang marriages of the past began with the asking for a hand in marriage, where village elders would take on the role as mediators, engaging in a friendy banter of poetic negotiations on behalf of the suitor and his love interest. Weddings were an elaborate three-day celebration that involved the community in meaningful ways, of which the most important pillar was the Catholic celebration.
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The arrival of a new life has always been a momentous occasion in Praya Lane. Despite economic hardships, families here have traditionally been large.
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Baptism is an important aspect of Kristang Catholic tradition, and typically occurs within two weeks of birth. Regardless of gender, infants are dressed in white gowns for this sacred rite. Two godparents, often family members, play a crucial role in the ceremony and in the child's spiritual upbringing.
Photographs are courtesy of:
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Evelyn Lowe
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The Fernandez Family
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Martin and Maria Theseira
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Olga Frois and Jeffrey Low
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Sister Lucy Collection
Bernard Sta Maria, The Boy From Praya Lane
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Much is known about the public life and achievements of Bernard Santa Maria. He is remembered for initiating the grand-scale San Pedro celebrations in 1967, establishing an education development center in the Portuguese Settlement, and working to reconnect the Malacca Portuguese with their ancestral homeland. Notably, he advocated for his community's access to national investment funds typically reserved for bumiputeras. Beyond these accomplishments, Bernard also authored and published two books during his lifetime.
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However Bernard was a true son of Praya Lane, growing up with many in the community who lived here.
Essays about Bernard & No. 1 Praya Lane
Bernard's Life
No. 1 Praya Lane
Photographs courtesy of Natassa Sta Maria
Photographs are courtesy of:
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Evelyn Lowe
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The Fernandez Family
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Martin and Maria Theseira
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Philomena Selvamani Anugraham and Nelly Theseira
​Many houses accommodated multiple families, with shared common areas like kitchens, toilets, and living spaces. These dwellings coexisted alongside private homes, while structures ranged from simple wooden shacks occupied by poorer families, to sturdier wood and brick houses. Distinctive features included picket fences and sand flooring, especially in cooking areas, which were later cemented. House compounds often featured fruit trees (coconut, banana) and small farm animals.
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At the back of the houses, floors were initially sand, especially in cooking and dining areas, though cement became more common later. The space was big and it was where gatherings often happened. The hall area in every house was hardly ever used.
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The village was surrounded by coconut groves and fruit trees, and fishermen's sheds dotted the shoreline behind Assumption Chapel before the gradual natural erosion of the coastline made it impossible to to live close to the sea by the 1970s. Daily life was punctuated by the sounds of waves, music from practising bands, and children playing. Against this landscape, peddlers brought life to the streets, offering everything from local delicacies like satay and char kway teow, to household goods and even medicines.
Village Life
The Sea & Social Connections
​​The backyard of Praya Lane opened up to the sea, the Straits of Melaka. It was the pride and joy of the folk living in Praya Lane, where the fishermen and their families lived. They kept their boats lined up on the shores right up to Kampong Tengah, their equipment stored in the bangsals (sheds). Fishermen rowed their boats out to catch, faced with the dangers of the sea.
The shores were also abundant with food, which can be seen in Kristang cuisine: older generations remember making agar-agar from fresh seaweed, chinchaloh from the gragos (krills).​​
It was also easy to pick up all types of shellfish from the beaches. Children would socialize at the beach, playing kites or jumping into the sea for their afternoon swim. It was also the location where the public laterines were, and it was common to see a ‘floater’ passing by.​
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The sea was also playground for many children growing up, a place where romantic encounters sometimes led to marriage and families being formed at Praya Lane.​
​By the 1950s, there were reports of general decline of the conditions of the roads around Banda Praya, and the beach was also facing erosion. When plans to reclaim land to build Melaka Raya were put in place, the fishermen’s already hard occupuation were the first to be hard hit. The social life of the community also changed, without the sea as a communal meeting place.
Photographs are courtesy of:
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The Fernandez Family
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Martin and Maria Theseira
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Olga Frois and Jeffrey Low
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The Tan Family
Photographs courtesy of Sabine Ferrao
Present Day:
Vulnerabilities & Constraints
Praya Lane in present-day 2025 sees land being sold to developers, with houses being converted into Airbnb units.
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When plans to reclaim land for the development of Melaka Raya were set in motion, fishermen—already facing a difficult livelihood—were the first to be affected. With the sea and beach no longer serving as a communal gathering place, the social fabric of the community also began to change.
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What caused its residents to move out?
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Was it the establishment of the Portuguese Settlement in the 1930s? Perhaps the land reclamation in the 1970s? Or could it be the lure of larger cities like Kuala Lumpur, which were booming in the 1980s?
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Whatever the reason for Praya Lane becoming a waning and aging neighbourhood; without its community, the social and cultural fabric that once formed the vibrancy and resilience of the lane has today been eroded.
A Question for Continuity
Stories of Praya Lane as an exhibition aims to capture and re-tell the historical, cultural, social and spiritual significance of this neighbourhood through the diverse community who once lived here.
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Stories of Praya Lane do more than simply recount history—it illuminates the soul of a community.
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They remind us that a city's true value lies not just in its buildings and infrastructure, but in the shared experiences, traditions, and connections of its people.
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How can we build cities that honour their past while embracing the future? How can we create urban spaces that nurture community and preserve local culture in the face of urban development?
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We invite you to reflect on the lessons of Praya Lane.
