Window Into History - Penang Monthly (Page 4)

The Devoted Pioneers of Girls’ Education in Malaya

6 min read

The Convent Light Street School, modestly nestled along Lebuh Light, proudly declares its motto to passersby: “Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty”. This motto and the school’s name are reminders of the pioneering nuns who founded the oldest girls’ school in Malaysia.

by Louise Goss-Custard

Bringing Books to the Public

8 min read

It was 1806 and C. Smith Esquire had a problem in Penang. Someone had borrowed the second part of the second volume of his Encyclopædia Britannica’s...

by Andrea Filmer

A Water Supply System to Boast About

6 min read

When we talk about heritage in Penang, we tend to focus on George Town’s historic monuments. As it happens, the city’s heritage is in its plumbing t...

by Soon-Tzu Speechley

A History of an Icon

6 min read

It stands at the end of Jalan Pangkor. The impressive and imposing building crafted in Victorian fashion has been the site for gatherings and activities organis...

by Koay Su Lyn

Penang: The Rebel State (Part One)

8 min read

The formation of the Penang Secession Committee in December 1948 is seldom mentioned in history books. Nonetheless, it was this committee that fielded the prima...

by Koay Su Lyn

The Tongkang – Symbol of the Entrepot Age

7 min read

It was the 1920s. Penang Harbour, stretching from Swettenham Pier to Pengkalan Weld, bustled endlessly. Bullock carts and handcarts transported goods of all kin...

by Pan Yi Chieh

Penang: The Rebel State (Part Two)

5 min read

The initial impetus for secession was provided by the Penang Chamber of Commerce under the leadership of D.A. Mackay. In November 1948 the Penang Chinese Chambe...

by Koay Su Lyn

A Short History of Penang’s Malay Publishing Industry

9 min read

The Malay printed word in Penang had its beginnings in the late nineteenth century, peaking just before the Second World War.

by Caleb Goh

Caleb Goh

Chung Ling: Tolling to Inspire the Young

9 min read

Chung Ling logo.When on the topic of secondary level education in Penang, one school’s name crops up without fail: Chung Ling High School. Hailed as...

by Pan Yi Chieh

Account of an Early Transit in Penang

10 min read

The following text is from a report written and submitted in 1796 by Captain Walter Caulfield Lennon. It is about his impressions of “Pulo Penang&...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

The Dawn of Higher Education in Malaysia

10 min read

According to Alexander Carr-Saunders, the architect of colonial universities, there was “little sympathy with local aspirations for university education&r...

by Koay Su Lyn

More Than an Air Force Station

7 min read

It was Australia’s biggest single engagement with Asia.At one point in the 1970s there were thousands of Australians in Penang, but few here now know wh...

by Louise Goss-Custard