Editing C. Northcote Parkinson (section)

== University of Malaya ==

Singapore was introduced to him almost immediately upon his arrival there, through exposure in the newspaper and a number of public appearances. Parkinson started teaching at the University of Malaya in Singapore at the beginning of April 1950.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 March 1950 |title=Varsity's First Degrees in July |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Public lectures ===

The first lecture of the Raffles Professor of History was a public lecture given at the [[Oei Tiong Ham]] Hall, on 19 May. Parkinson, who was speaking on "The Task of the Historian,"<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 May 1950 |title=Public Lecture |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref> began by noting the new Raffles history chair was aptly named because it was [[Stamford Raffles|Sir Stamford Raffles]] who had tried to found the university in 1823 and because Raffles himself was a historian. There was a large audience, including Professor [[Alexander Oppenheim]], the university's Dean of the Faculty of Arts.<ref>"First Lecture on History."</ref>

The text of his lecture was then reproduced and published over two issues of ''The Straits Times'' a few days later.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 May 1950 |title=Raffles Chair of History |pages=8 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 May 1950 |title=Research at a Junction of East and West |pages=6 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

On 17 April 1953, he addressed the public on "The Historical Aspect of the Coronation," at the Singapore YMCA Hall.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 April 1953 |title=Coronation Talk |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Sponsored by the Malayan Historical Society, Parkinson gave a talk on the "Modern history of Taiping" at the residence of the District Officer, Larut and Matang on 12 August 1953.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 August 1953 |title=History talk in Taiping |pages=19 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Sponsored by the Singapore branch of the Malayan Historical Society, on 5 February 1954 Parkinson gave a public lecture on "Singapore in the sixties" [1860s] at St. Andrew's Cathedral War Memorial Hall.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 January 1954 |title=He'll lecture on old Singapore |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 February 1954 |title=Talk on old Singapore |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Sponsored by the Seremban branch of the Historical Society of Malaya, Parkinson spoke on Tin Mining at the King George V School, Seremban. He said, in the past, Chinese labourers were imported from China at $32 a head to work the tin fields of Malaya. He said that mining developed steadily after British protection had been established and that tin from Negri Sembilan in the 1870s came from Sungei Ujong and Rembau, and worked with capital from Malacca. He noted that Chinese working side-by-side with Europeans did better with their primitive methods and made great profits when they took over mines that Europeans abandoned.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 April 1954 |title=Romance of tin: Chinese began mines |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Arranged by the Indian University Graduates Association of Singapore, Parkinson gave a talk on "Indian Political Thought," at the USIS theatrette on 16 February 1955.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 February 1955 |title=Talk on Indian thought |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 February 1955 |title=A professor on Indian thought |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

On 10 March 1955, he spoke on "What I think about Colonialism," at the British Council Hall, Stamford Road, Singapore, at 6.30 p.m. In his lecture, he argued that nationalism which was generally believed to be good, and colonialism which was seen as the reverse, were not necessarily opposite ideas but the same thing seen from different angles. He thought the gifts from Britain that Malaya and Singapore should value most and retain when they became self-governing included debate, literature (not comics), armed forces' tradition (not police state), arts, tolerance and humour (not puritanism) and public spirit.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 March 1955 |title=Colonialism... |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=11 March 1955 |title=A 10-year trial before self-rule |pages=8 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Public exhibitions ===

On 18 August 1950, Parkinson opened a week-long exhibition on the "History of English Handwriting," at the British Council centre, Stamford Road, Singapore.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 August 1950 |title=British Council Exhibition |pages=5 |work=[[Singapore Free Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 August 1950 |title=Exhibition of British Handwriting |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 August 1950 |title=Display of English Handwriting |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

On 21 March 1952, he opened an exhibition of photographs from the ''Times of London'' which had been shown widely in different parts of the world. The exhibition comprised a selection of photographs spanning 1921 to 1951.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 March 1952 |title= |pages=3 |work=[[Singapore Free Press]]}}</ref> 140 photographs were on display for a month at the British Council Hall, Singapore, showing scenes ranging from the German surrender to the opening of the Festival of Britain by the late king.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 March 1952 |title=Newspaper photographs |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

He opened an exhibition of photographs taken by students of the University of Malaya during their tour of India, at the University Arts Theatre in Cluny Road, Singapore, 10 October 1953.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 October 1953 |title=Photo Show |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Victor Purcell ===

Towards the end of August, Professor of Far Eastern History at Cambridge University, Dr. [[Victor Purcell]], who was also a former Acting Secretary of Chinese Affairs in Singapore, addressed the Kuala Lumpur Rotary Club. ''The Straits Times'', quoting Purcell, noted, "Professor C. N. Parkinson had been appointed to the Chair of History at the University of Malaya and 'we can confidently anticipate that under his direction academic research into Malaya's history will assume a creative aspect which it has not possessed before.'"<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 August 1950 |title=Progress in Asian Studies |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Johore Transfer Committee ===

In October, Parkinson was appointed by the Senate of the University of Malaya to head a special committee of experts to consult on technical details regarding the transfer of the university to Johore. Along with him were professor R. E. Holttum (botany), and acting professors C. G. Webb (physics) and D. W. Fryer (geography).<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 1950 |title='Transfer' Body For University |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Library and Museum ===

In November, Parkinson was appointed a member of the committee for the management of [[National Museum of Singapore|Raffles Library and Museum]], replacing Professor G. G. Hough who had resigned.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 November 1950 |title=Appointment |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

In March 1952, Parkinson proposed a central public library for Singapore as a memorial to King George VI, commemorating that monarch's reign. He is reported to have said, "Perhaps the day has gone by for public monuments except in a useful form. And if that be so, might not, some enterprise of local importance be graced with the late King's name? One plan he could certainly have warmly approved would be that of building a Central Public Library," he opined. Parkinson noted that the Raffles Library was growing in usefulness and would, in short time, outgrow the building that then housed it. He said, given the educational work that was producing a large literate population demanding books in English, Malay and Chinese, what was surely needed was a genuinely public library, air-conditioned to preserve the books, and of a design to make those books readily accessible. He suggested that the building, equipment and maintenance of the public library ought to be the responsibility of the municipality rather than the government.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 March 1952 |title=Public Library as memorial to King |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

T. P. F. McNeice, then-president of the Singapore City Council, as well as leading educationists of the time, thought the suggestion "an excellent, first-class suggestion to meet a definite and urgent need." McNeice also agreed that the project ought to be the responsibility of the city council. Also in favour of the idea was Director of Education A. W. Frisby, who thought that there ought to be branches of the library which could be fed by the central library, Raffles Institution Principal P. F. Howitt, Canon R. K. S. Adams (Principal of St. Andrews School) and Homer Cheng, the president of the Chinese Y.M.C.A. Principal of the Anglo-Chinese School, H. H. Peterson, suggested the authorities also consider a mobile school library.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 March 1952 |title=Royal library plan praised |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

While Parkinson had originally suggested that this be a municipal and not a government undertaking, something changed. A public meeting, convened by the Friends of Singapore – Parkinson was its President – at the British Council Hall on 15 May, decided that Singapore's memorial to King George VI would take the form of a public library, possibly with mobile units and sub-libraries in the out-of-town districts. Parkinson, in addressing the assembly, noted that Raffles Library was not a free library, did not have vernacular sections, and its building could not be air-conditioned. McNeice, the municipal president, then proposed a resolution be sent to government that the meeting considered the most appropriate memorial to the late king ought to take the form of a library (or libraries) and urged the government to set up a committee with enough non-government representation to consider the matter.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 May 1952 |title=Library may be S'pore memorial |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

The government got involved, and a government spokesperson spoke to ''The Straits Times'' about this on 16 May, saying that the Singapore government welcomed proposals from the public on the form in which a memorial to King George ought to take, whether a public library, as suggested by Parkinson, or some other form.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 May 1952 |title=Govt. Wants Your Opinion |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

In the middle of 1952, the Singapore government began setting up a committee to consider the suggestions made on the form Singapore's memorial to King George VI ought to take. G. G. Thomson, the government's public relations secretary, informed ''The Straits Times'' that the committee would have official and non-government representation and added that, apart from Parkinson's suggestion of a free public library, a polytechnic had also been suggested.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 June 1952 |title=Memorial Plan Study |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

W. L. Blythe, the colonial secretary, making it clear where his vote lay, pointed out that Singapore at that time already had a library, the Raffles Library. News coverage notes that yet another committee had been formed, this time to consider what would be necessary to establish an institution along the lines of the London Polytechnic. Blythe stated that the arguments he had heard in favour of a polytechnic were very strong.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 October 1952 |title='Poly' is suggested as a memorial |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Director of Raffles Library and Museum, W. M. F. Tweedie, was in favour of the King George VI free public library but up to the end of November, nothing had been heard of any developments towards that end. Tweedie suggested the ground beside the British Council as being suitable for such a library, and, if the public library was built, he would suggest for all the books at the Raffles Library to be moved to the new site, so that the space thus vacated could be used for a public art gallery.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 November 1952 |title=Singapore art gallery planned |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Right after, the government, who were not supposed to have been involved in the first place – the suggestion made by Parkinson and accepted by City Council President T. P. F. McNeice that this be a municipal and not government undertaking – approved the proposal to set up a polytechnic as a memorial to King George IV.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 November 1952 |title=Memorial will be polytechnic |pages=8 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

And Singapore continued with its subscription library and was without a free public library as envisioned by Parkinson. However, his call did not go unheeded. The following year, in August 1953, the [[Lee Foundation]] pledged a dollar-for-dollar match up to $375,000 towards the establishment of a national library, provided that it was a free, without-cost, public library, open to men and women of every race, class, creed, and colour.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 August 1953 |title=Library gift – a spur to officialdom |pages=6 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

It was not, however, until November 1960 that Parkinson's vision was realised, when the new library, free and for all, was completed and opened to the public.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aroozoo |first=Lydia |date=11 November 1960 |title=New Library for all. Books in all languages will be on loan without fee |pages=7 |work=[[Singapore Free Press]]}}</ref>

=== Film Censorship Consultative Committee ===

That same month he was also appointed, by the Singapore Government, chairman of a committee set up to study [[film censorship]] in the colony and suggest changes, if necessary.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 November 1950 |title=Film Censorship Views Sought |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Their terms of reference were to enquire into the existing procedure and legislation relating to cinematograph film censorship and to make recommendations with a view to improving the system, including legislation. They were also asked to consider whether the Official Film Censor should continue to be the controller of the British film quota, and to consider the memorandum of the film trade submitted to the governor earlier that year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 December 1950 |title=Only Two Have Views in Films |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Investigating, archiving and writing Malaya's past ===

At the beginning of December 1950, Parkinson made an appeal at the Singapore Rotary Club for old log books, diaries, newspaper files, ledgers or maps accumulated over the years. He asked that these be passed to the Raffles Library or the University of Malaya library, instead of being thrown away, as they might aid research and help those studying the history of the country to set down an account of what had happened in Malaya since 1867. "The time will come when school-children will be taught the history of their own land rather than of Henry VIII or the capture of Quebec. Parkinson told his audience that there was a large volume of documentary evidence about Malaya written in Portuguese and Dutch. He said that the arrival of the Pluto in Singapore, one of the first vessels to pass through the Suez Canal when it opened in 1869, might be described as the moment when British Malaya was born. "I would urge you not to scrap old correspondence just because it clutters up the office. Send it to a library where it may some day be of great value," he said.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 December 1950 |title=You Can Help With Research |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

In September 1951 the magazine ''British Malaya'' published Parkinson's letter that called for the formation of one central archives office where all the historical records of Malaya and Singapore could be properly preserved, pointing out that it would be of inestimable value to administrators, historians, economists, social science investigators and students. In his letter, Parkinson, who was still abroad in London attending the Anglo-American Conference of Historians, said that the formation of an archives office was already in discussion, and was urgent, in view of the climate where documents were liable to damage by insects and mildew. He said that many private documents relating to Malaya were kept in the U.K. where they were not appreciated because names like Maxwell, Braddell and Swettenham might mean nothing there. "The establishment of a Malayan Archives Office would do much to encourage the transfer of these documents," he wrote.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 September 1951 |title=ARCHIVES OFFICE URGED |pages=8 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

On 22 May 1953, Parkinson convened a meeting at the British Council, Stamford Road, Singapore, to form the Singapore branch of the Malayan Historical Society.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 May 1953 |title=Historical Society plan |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the society's Singapore branch, Parkinson, addressing the more than 100 people attending, said the aims of the branch would be to assist in the recording of history, folklore, tradition and customs of Malaya and its people and to encourage the preservation of objects of historical and cultural interest. Of Malayan history, he said, it "has mostly still to be written. Nor can it even be taught in the schools until that writing has been done."<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 May 1953 |title=Fillip to interest in history |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Parkinson had been urging the Singapore and Federation Governments to set up a national archives since 1950. In June 1953 he urged the speedy establishment of a national archives, where, "in air-conditioned rooms, on steel shelves, with proper skilled supervision and proper precaution against fire and theft, the records of Malayan history might be preserved indefinitely and at small expense. He noted that cockroaches had nibbled away at many vital documents and records, shrouding many years of Malaya's past in mystery, aided by moths and silverfish and abetted by negligent officials.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 June 1953 |title=Lumps are being eaten out of our history. Cockroaches make past a mystery |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

A start had, by then, already been made – an air-conditioned room at the Federal Museum had already been set aside for storing important historical documents and preserving them from cockroaches and decay, the work of Peter Williams-Hunt, the Federation Director of Museums and Adviser on Aborigine Affairs who had died that month. He noted, however, that the problems of supervising archives and collecting old documents had still to be solved.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 June 1953 |title=Room given for Malayan archives |pages=8 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

In January 1955 Parkinson formed University of Malaya's Archaeological Society and became its first president. Upon commencement, The society had a membership of 53 which was reported to be the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia at the time. "Drive to discover the secrets of S.E. Asia. Hundreds of amateurs will delve into mysteries of the past."<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 January 1955 |title= |pages=9 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

In April 1956 it was reported that "For the first time, a long-needed Standard History of Malaya is to be published for students." According to the news report a large-scale project, developing a ten-volume series, the result of ten years of research by University of Malaya staff, was currently in progress, detailing events dating back to the Portuguese occupation of 1511, to the, then, present day. The first volume, written by Parkinson, covered the years 1867 to 1877 and was to be published within three months thence. It was estimated that the last volume would be released after 1960. The report noted that, as at that time, Parkinson and his wife had already released two books on history for junior students, entitled ''The Heroes'' and ''Malayan Fables''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 April 1956 |title=At last—a history book of Malaya |pages=7 |work=[[Singapore Free Press]]}}</ref>

Three months passed by and the book remained unpublished. It was not until 1960 that British intervention in Malaya (1867–1877), that the first volume finally found its way onto bookshelves and into libraries. By that time, the press reported the series had expanded into a twelve-volume set.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 October 1960 |title=THE CONQUEST OF THE MALAY STATES |pages=6 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Malayan history syllabus ===

In January 1951 Parkinson was interviewed by New Zealand film producer and director Wynona "Noni" Hope Wright. He told of his reorganisation of the Department of History during the last term to facilitate a new syllabus. The interview took place in Parkinson's sitting room beneath a frieze depicting Malaya's history, painted by Parkinson. Departing from the usual syllabus, Parkinson had decided to leave out European History almost entirely in order to give greater focus to Southeast Asia, particularly Malaya. The course, designed experimentally, takes in the study of world history up to 1497 in the first year, the impact of different European nations on Southeast Asia in the second year, and the study of Southeast Asia, particularly Malaya, after the establishment of British influence at the Straits Settlements in the third year. The students who make it through and decide to specialise in history will then have been brought to a point where they can profitably undertake original research in the history of modern Malaya, i.e. the 19th and 20th centuries, an area where, according to Parkinson, little had been done, with hardly any serious research attempted for the period after 'the transfer' in 1867. Parkinson hoped that lecturing on this syllabus would ultimately produce a full-scale history of Malaya. This would include discovering documentation from Portuguese and Dutch sources from the time when those two countries still had a foothold in Malaya. He said that, while the period of development of the Straits Settlements under the [[East India Company]] were well-documented – the bulk of these archived at the Raffles Museum, local records after 1867 were not as plentiful and that it would be necessary to reconstruct those records from microfilm copies of documents kept in the United Kingdom. The task for the staff at the History Department was made formidable because their unfamiliarity with the Dutch and Portuguese languages. "I have no doubt that the history of Malaya must finally be written by Malayans, but we can at least do very much to prepare the way." Parkinson told Wright. "Scholars trained at this University in the spirit and technique of historical research, a study divorced from all racial and religious animosities, a study concerned only with finding the truth and explaining it in a lucid and attractive literary form, should be able to make a unique contribution to the mutual understanding of East and West," he said. "History apart, nothing seems to be of more vital importance in our time than the promotion of this understanding. In no field at the present time does the perpetuation of distrust and mutual incomprehension seem more dangerous. If we can, from this university, send forth graduates who can combine learning and ways of thought of the Far East and of the West, they may play a great part in overcoming the barriers of prejudice, insularity and ignorance," he concluded.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 January 1951 |title=Towards A Full-Scale history of Malaya by Noni Wright |pages=4 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 February 1951 |title=Changes in University Ordinance |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=WRIGHT, Wynona 'Noni' Hope |encyclopedia=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga, Government of New Zealand |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/wright-wynona-noni-hope |access-date=16 April 2015 |last=Cole |first=John Reece |date=23 April 2009 |editor-last=McLintock |editor-first=A. H. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419101243/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/wright-wynona-noni-hope |archive-date=19 April 2015}} ''N.Z. Listener'', 24–30 August 1964. Published before in 1966 in McLintock, A. H. (ed.). ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''.</ref>

=== Radio Malaya programs ===

In March 1951 Parkinson wrote a historical feature, "The China Fleet," for Radio Malaya, offering a what was said to be a true account in dramatic form of an incident in the annals of the East India Company that had such an influence on Malaya and other parts of Southeast Asia in the early nineteenth century.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 March 1951 |title= |pages=12 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

On 28 January 1952, at 9.40 p.m. he talked about the founding of Singapore.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 January 1952 |title=Your Radio |pages=10 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 January 1952 |title=Anniversary |pages=5 |work=[[Singapore Free Press]]}}</ref>

=== Special Constabulary ===

In the middle of April 1951, Parkinson was sworn in as special constable by ASP Watson of the Singapore Special Constabulary at the Oei Tion Ham Hall, together with other members of the staff, and students who were then placed under Parkinson's supervision. The special constabulary, The University Corp, being informed of their duties and powers of arrest were then issued batons and charged with the defence of the university in the event of trouble. Lecturer in Economics, P. Sherwood, was appointed Parkinson's assistant. These measures were taken to ensure that rioters were dispersed and ejected if they trespassed onto university grounds. Parkinson signed a notice that noted that some of the rioters who took part in the December disorders came from an area near the university buildings in Bukit Timah.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 April 1951 |title=Student S.C.s Sworn In |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=16 April 1951 |title=Nine University students join Special Constabulary |pages=5 |work=[[Singapore Free Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=23 April 1951 |title=University on Alert |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

These precautions were taken in advance of the [[Maria Hertogh riots|Maria Hertogh appeal]] on Monday 16 April.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 April 1951 |title=Police alert for Maria appeal |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=15 April 1951 |title='Carry on as usual' advice. Maria Case |pages=1 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=16 April 1951 |title=Army and police will be ready |pages=1 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref> The case was postponed a number of times,<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 1951 |title=Maria appeal put off |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=30 May 1951 |title=Stone-thrower |pages=8 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 June 1951 |title=Maria Hertogh appeal stayed |pages=8 |work=[[Singapore Free Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 July 1951 |title=Hertogh Case Postponed |pages=3 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref> after which it was finally heard at the end of July.<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 July 1951 |title=Maria case appeal |pages=1, 7–8 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Anglo-American Conference of Historians ===

Parkinson departed Singapore on Monday 18 June 1951 for London, where he represented the University of Malaya at the Fifth Anglo-American Conference of Historians there from 9 to 14 July. He was to return in October at the start of the new academic year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 June 1951 |title=To Represent University |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

=== Resignation ===

In October 1958, while still on sabbatical in America – together with his wife and two young children, he had set off for America in May 1958 for study and travel and was due to return to work in April 1959 – Parkinson, through a letter sent from New York, resigned his position at the University of Malaya.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 1958 |title=Professor Parkinson resigns from university |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref> K. G. Tregonning was at that time acting head of the history department.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 1958 |title=Popular book |pages=7 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Parkinson had not been the only one to resign while on leave. Professor E. H. G. Dobby of the geography department had also submitted his resignation while away on sabbatical leave. After deliberations, the university council had decided, before the university's new constitution came into force on 15 January, that no legal action would be taken against Dobby – the majority of the council feeling that there was no case against Dobby as his resignation occurred before new regulations governing sabbatical leave benefits were introduced. In Parkinson's case, however, the council determined that that resignation had been submitted after the regulations came into effect, and a decision had been made to write to him, asking that he report back to work before a certain date, failing which the council said it was free to take any action they thought appropriate.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mahadeva |first=A. |date=29 January 1959 |title='NO CASE' AGAINST PROF. DOBBY |pages=5 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

In July 1959, K. G. Tregonning, acting head of the history department, and history lecturer at the University of Malaya since 1952, was appointed to fill the Raffles History Chair left vacant by Parkinson's resignation. There was nothing in the press about whether the matter between Parkinson and the university had been resolved, or not.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 July 1959 |title=Aussie fills history Chair |pages=13 |work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>{{Original research inline|date=December 2023}}