cannon – Perspective of Penang

Penang Street Art (Colorful Cannon Sculpture)

A sculpture of a cannon found at Keng Kwee Street (or Lebuh Keng Kwee) in George Town.

George Town Street View: A Cannon at Fort Cornwallis

A cannon at the walls of Fort Cornwallis in the Esplanade, George Town.

Penang Street Art (The Camera Artillery by CodeFC)

Behind the mural painted by Alexface in Nagore Mews is a stencil art work from UK street artist CodeFC. This stencil mural seems to feature a camera-like artillery or cannon.

For this street art location, please go HERE.

You may also find several of CodeFC’s works scattered across George Town.

Cannon Street Houses

The name Cannon Street had its origin from the cannons that were fired during the Penang Riots in 1867. The riot was the result of a secret society dispute when the alliance of Tua Pek Kong Hoey (Kean Teik Tong) and the Red Flag Gang fought against the alliance of the Ghee Hin Kongsi and the White Flag Gang for ten days in George Town. It was said that some of the houses still have bullet holes as a result from the riot.

According to some sources, Cannon Street (Tua Cheng Hang) originated from this event with two versions of the story. One report said that in order to suppress the riots, the colonial government fired cannons at the territory of the Tua Pek Kong Hoey and created a big hole on the street; so people called the street Big Cannon Hole (Tua Cheng Khang). Later, as the hole was levelled up, it was renamed Cannon Street (Tua Cheng Hang). Another story said that the Tua Pek Kong Hoey placed cannons on the street to resist the enemy and thus it was called Cannon Street.

Penang Isle: Cannon Square

The Cannon Square is a small area in George Town which houses the Khoo Kongsi and its surrounding clan buildings. The entrance of the Cannon Square and the Khoo Kongsi is located at Cannon Street.

A Portrait of Fort Cornwallis

The Fort Cornwallis is the largest remaining British fort in Malaysia. The largest cannon located at the seafront corner of the fort, known as Seri Rambai Cannon, was a gift from the Dutch to the Sultan of Johore

The Cannon of the Fort

The largest cannon of Fort Cornwallis still stands proudly at the walls of the fort even as its age of glory had passed.

Penang Isle: Fort Cornwallis

Built during the British rule, Fort Cornwallis is the largest fort still remaining in Malaysia. This old star-shaped fort is situated at the north-eastern side of Penang island. The fort is named after Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis who was the Governor General of Bengal, India in the late 18th century.

Captain Sir Francis Light took possession of the island from the Sultan of Kedah in 1786 and built the original fort. It was a nibong (Malay: palm trunk) stockade with no permanent structures, covering an area of 417.6 square feet (38.80 m2). Despite the fort’s original purpose to serve the Royal artillery troops and the military, historically it was more for administrative purpose than defensive.