The history of Balik Pulau has been a continuous source of controversy. The following “eyewitness” account and maps may perhaps settle some of the argument and open up new avenues for discussion.
In March 1807 the East India Company’s assistant surveyor in Penang, Jeremiah McCarthy, was sent to reconnoiter the western part of the island. McCarthy had been appointed to Penang by the Bengal government in early 1806 and had been extremely busy surveying various parts of the island, including George Town. Some of his surveys are extant; however the survey he refers to below has unfortunately not been discovered. When Captain Thomas Robertson of the
Bengal Engineers arrived later in 1806 he took charge of the engineering and survey departments, and McCarthy was placed under him.
