Georgetown: Colonial Architecture, Tan Jetty, Suffolk House

Welcome to the final blog on Penang. 5 blogs out of a 4 day visit shows just how much there is to see on this beautiful Malaysian island!


In this issue you will see Georgetown has many fine, grand buildings reflecting the colonial times. In complete contrast it has a jetty area where people live in shacks on the water. And Francis Light, the founder of the British colony of Penang had a rather nice house.... though there is some doubt he ever lived in it.

This first picture shows St Georges Church. It is the oldest Anglican church in South East Asia. It is one of the 50 national treasures of Malaysia.

I hope you enjoy the photos

Alan
















The Curch of the Assumption. It was built by
the Eurasians that followed Francis Light to
Penang. It was erected in 1861. Francis Light
had a common law wife who was a Eurasian
of Thai-Portuguese descent
















The Penang Customs Department clock tower
The building was originally known as the
Malayan Railway building. It was built at the
turn of the 20th century. The customs
department has it offices there but the building
is now called Wisma Kastam
















Majlis Jabatan Agama Islam Pulau Pinang
Building. Beautiful double storey Neo-Classical
style building constructed in 1907. This is the
pinnacle of colonial architecture in the Straits
Settlements during Edwardian times. It
used to be part of the Government administration
offices. Now it houses the State Islamic Council






















The moorish-style clocktower at
the junction of Lebuh Light and
Lebuh Pantai is sixty feet tall, one
foot for each year of Queen Victoria's reign



















Something strange about this picture.......













The Old Town Hall was once a premier place
for George Town’s social events, balls, public
speeches, art exhibitions and amateur concerts
for the town’s European community. Its
foundations were laid in 1879 and it was the
oldest municipal building in Penang















The City Hall housing the municipal council.
It is a handsome Victorian-style building and
was one of the first buildings in George Town,
to be completely fitted with electric lights and fans











The Clan Jetties are traditional settlements
created by Chinese immmigrants and are a
fascinating feature of Georgetown
















We visited Tan Jetty. It houses the descendents
of people who came from Tan Village in the Fujian
province in China. They came at the turn of
20th century






















At that time, the shoreline of
Georgetown had just been
extended outward to create
a deeper port for steamships,
which in turn created jobs for
port workers and coolies
















Here's Daniela at Tan Jetty






















Hmmmm! Am I wrong or is
there something missing....
















Tan Jetty bird













The shacks













Francis Light's accommodation called Suffolk
House. Although there is a short but interesting
article that suggests this building was built after
he died. Click on the link to read it












My front garden was a bit smaller than this, as
for the house........














Interesting bridge just outside the grounds of
Suffolk House






















And then all of a sudden this
pack of marauding canines
attacked us with great gusto!















It was hard not to put a couple in our pockets
and bring them back to Singapore, though
Singapore customs may have had other ideas!

I hope you have enjoyed the blogs on Penang.
If you get a chance do go.