Eugene Quah

is an independent researcher and writer who is working on a book tentatively called “Illustrated Guide to the North Coast of Penang”. He rediscovered the joys of writing after moving back to Penang.

44 posts

When Penang Was an Axis Submarine Base

11 min read

The I-29’s mission to rendezvous with the U-180 was one of a series of long and dangerous missions to Nazi-controlled Europe, dubbed the Yanagi missions, for the exchange of technology, skills and military material.

by Eugene Quah

Penang Chinese Swimming Club: Birthplace of Olympians

8 min read

THE MELBOURNE SUMMER OLYMPICS of 1956, held in Victoria, was a game with many historic firsts. It was the first Olympics ever held in the southern hemisphere an...

by Eugene Quah

Early Days of Motor Buses in Penang

9 min read

It is often thought that the first motor buses, four Thornycrofts, were introduced in Penang in 1921 by the municipality. While Ric Francis and Colin Ganley cov...

by Eugene Quah

Penang Hill: A Natural Resource That Shaped The Settlement

9 min read

BESIDE THE HANDSOME George Town Dispensary building on Beach Street is a neat white shop house which today is occupied by an upscale artisanal retail store. On...

by Eugene Quah

Foo Hong Tatt's Poetry in Paint

5 min read

FOO HONG TATT was born on 9 April 1940, several months before World War II descended upon Malaya. He recalls hiding with his family at their estate in the hills...

by Eugene Quah

The Benevolent Madam Tan Say Seang: Penang philanthropist par excellence

9 min read

ON SATURDAY, 14 December 1907, at 12.30pm, the sentry on duty at the police station in the rustic village of Tanjung Tokong “noticed that one of the buildings i...

by Eugene Quah

The Spout: The Little Victorian Hill Resort

7 min read

ONE FINE MORNING last July, I went with my intrepid friend, James Wong, to explore the hills behind the Vale of Tempe in Tanjung Bungah. As we reached the end o...

by Eugene Quah

James Dollery Fettes of Penang Waterworks: A Life of Civil Engineering and Service (Part Two)

9 min read

DURING A MEETING on 30 April 1909, the President of the Penang Municipal Commission, James Wilson Hallifax, asked Leonard Moore Bell how long “the new engineer”...

by Eugene Quah

Mount Palmer and Pulau Betong: Penang’s Forgotten Southern Flagstaff and Watering Place

7 min read

AS ONE VENTURES further southward of Paya Terubong, the mountain pass brings one onto a winding hill road. This road climbs to a height of 316m, offering breath...

by Eugene Quah

General on the Great Hill: US Civil War Hero Visits Penang – Part Two

7 min read

IN PART ONE, the 18th President of the United States of America, Ulysses S. Grant, arrived at Penang and was hosted to a dinner at Government House on Flagstaff...

by Eugene Quah

Seeing the World in a Plate of Mee Goreng

7 min read

MEE GORENG MAMAK is the perfect metaphor for cosmopolitan Penang, the undeniable love child of unfettered multiculturalism. Penang, as an entrepôt, had always b...

by Eugene Quah

When Einstein Cruised into Penang

8 min read

THE CRUISE SHIP, Spectrum of the Seas, a behemoth 18-storeys high and a third of a kilometre long, sailed into Penang’s Swettenham Pier on 2 July 2022 guided by...

by Eugene Quah