Our guest speaker today was Ibu Agung A Jerayawati Panji Tisna.  She is a daughter of the last King of Buleleng, Anak Agung Nyoman Panji Tisna  who lived from 1908 to 1978, and was King from 1944 until 1948.

Ibu Agung was assisted by Gerard Spijk from the Netherlands who has been helping her for more than two years with improvements to the chapel where her father is buried.

This topic had attracted some interest and besides the speakers we welcomed 4 other guests to the meeting.

Gerard started the talk – showing these slides (file size: 743K). They have built access paths and a bridge, and have made a water supply system so that they can water gardens. They have used local villagers to do the work rather than bring in workers from elsewhere.

They have plans to get electricity, some more paths, and some signage.

Then as the discussion moved more towards family issues, Ibu Agung did much of the talking. The King was an author, and Ibu has continued writing. The King had 4 wives – the first was an arranged marriage, then others including a dancer.

Soon after Independence the family moved to Germany, and then after 50 years, Ibu decided to come back to Bali with her aging mother. She finds that Bali has changed so much.

Many family members are still in Germany, some are in Java and some in Honolulu.

Here, you can read an article about the last 3 Kings and see some photos of the palace.