Lover’s Leap
Lover's Leap is not just a legend, but a touching true story that is etched on a pillar on Swami Rock. The story goes that Francina van Reed, daughter of a high-ranking civil servant in Holland, was engaged to a young Dutch officer. However, he broke off the engagement and left for Holland after completing his foreign service. Heartbroken and abandoned, Francina watched as the ship carrying her former lover sailed away from the promontory of Swami Rock. Overcome with despair, she flung herself from the rock's edge and plunged 400 feet into the sea below.
To commemorate the tragedy that occurred on April 24, 1687, a pillar was erected on the promontory. However, when Sir Emerson Tennent, Secretary of the Colony, came across the pillar in the late 1840s or early 1850s, he found that the inscription that recounted Francina van Reed's fate had become almost illegible
To commemorate the tragedy that occurred on April 24, 1687, a pillar was erected on the promontory. However, when Sir Emerson Tennent, Secretary of the Colony, came across the pillar in the late 1840s or early 1850s, he found that the inscription that recounted Francina van Reed's fate had become almost illegible
