George Town Street View: A Townhouse Facade

George Town Street View: Abandoned Facade

Balik Pulau Town Center Revisited

It was found that the old agricultural town of Balik Pulau was established in the 1790s by the British East India Company. Located at the southwest of Penang Island, Balik Pulau is a Malay name which refers to ‘the back of the island’ in Malay. The town was so named due to its location situated at the western side of the Penang Island, separated from George Town by the island’s central hills. The British East India Company at that time established the first clove and nutmeg plantations in the area, hoping to turn Penang island as the center for spice production in Southeast Asia and competing against the Dutch monopoly of the spice trade during that period.

Chulia Street: Han Jiang Ancestral Temple

The Han Jiang Teochew Temple (or Hanjiang Ancestral Temple) is a Chinese temple located along Chulia Street (Lebuh Chulia) in George Town and right at the cross junction of Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling. It is the community temple of the Penang Teochew Association. Completed in 1870, it serves as the community temple of the Penang Teochew Association which was formed in 1855 by six Teochew migrants.

A View of Campbell Street

Campbell Street Facades

Campbell Street is one of the popular streets in George Town and is accessible from Penang Road and a number of other smaller streets. The street was found to be named after the Penang Inspector General Sir George William Robert Campbell, who was also the acting Lieutenant-Governor of Penang between 1872 and 1873. Also called “Sin Kay” in Hokkien by the locals, this street now becomes a shopping street for the locals and tourists to shop for various items such as food produces, clothing, bags, watches and shoes. Several cafes have also opened for business along this street. This is evident by the number of signboards leaning out from the shophouses along the street.

Passing by Old Townhouse

Muntri Street View: Heritage Townhouses

Pre-war townhouses featuring Straits Eclectic architecture style found at Muntri Street, George Town.

Muntri Street View

Muntri Street is one of the old streets in George Town, and was named after a person called Ngah Ibrahim. Ngah Ibrahim was appointed the “Orang Kaya Mantri of Larut” in 1858, and the word Muntri was derived from Mantri or Menteri, a Malay word for a government Minister. Ngah Ibrahim was the administrator of the district of Larut in the late 1800s.