Here’s another set of photographs from the Macduffs, taken in the 1950s (before they left Malaya).
This one shows the boys’ handicap race; Ian is said to be the boy standing 3rd from the left, while Ian and Sheila’s father – Ken Macduff – is the official in the far right (the one with the unique hairstyle).
The picture on the left shows the children standing in line, waiting to use the diving board. The picture on the right is probably the Macduff family.
Yes, folks. THIS is what the Kampar Police Station looked liked. This picture was taken by Mayfair Studio, back in 1956. I bet the Kampar-folks would have a story or two to share with us! 🙂
NEW PHOTO OF THE KAMPAR POLICE STATION (picture courtesy of Rafique)
These were sent to us by the Macduffs (Ian and Sheila), who also shared some memories of what the Ipoh Swimming Club was like back in the 50s.
Sheila tells us that the sketch of the four boys on the programme cover was done by Pat Power. We are not too sure of the identity of all the boys, but from left to right: Unknown; Ian Macduff; Unknown; Anthony Shuttleworth. Perhaps someone will recognise the other two lads?
From the comments we’ve been getting on the previous posts about the swimming club, we’re glad that some of you have met up with some long lost childhood friends! That’s one of the most satisfying aspects of running ipohWorld. Hopefully these and some more from Sheila, yet to be posted, will link more of you. 🙂
These lovely ladies (in sunglasses) look REALLY happy! Could it be because of the ‘diamonds’? (see below)
I really can’t tell what they’re trying on/ or what they eventually purchased….but I do know that this scene took place at none other than the famed Soon Yik Goldsmith shop!
Well there was one man at least in Ipoh who was very much into it, particularly ‘Kung Fu Karato’. He was known as Leong Fu and he lived at 119 Anderson Road, Ipoh. Not only was he into the art, he was the world champion, having fought in all parts of the Kung Fu world and beaten all comers. When he retired he did so as the unconquered champion of the Kung Fu world.
Subsequently in 1947 he produced a massive book describing the many moves that an exponent needs to learn. Here is the cover and a part of the title page of that book for your viewing.
This, truly a giant book, lent to us by Charlie, measures 10 x 12 inches and is 2.25 inches thick, with hundreds of drawings of the different stances and moves needed tp be practiced. Despite its size, it sold all over the world as is shown in the last few pages by a wide range of letters and photographs of people who benefitted from the publication. Leong Fu clearly put Ipoh on the world map!
Now the question is how can we obtain a photograph of the King of Kung Fu Karato? Does anyone know his family or have a photo we could scan? We really need to feature Leong Fu on our history database as there is no doubt that he made history.
We look forward to hearing from you.
From what was written at the back of this photograph, we know that:
Any Lions Club members out there? We’d like to know MORE about this event.
PS: does anyone remember WHO the Menteri Besar of Perak was that year?
Sent to us by Norman Doctor from the UK, these aerial shots were taken in the 1950s. The shots were probably taken during the routine supply drops.
Does anyone out there recognise these forts? There aren’t that many clues, but we’re hoping someone out there knows a bit more about these places.
When we stumbled upon this picture, I couldn’t help but wonder: WHERE have I seen this place before?
Could this be somewhere in New Town? Old Town? Or perhaps even Ipoh Garden?
The interior of the store (especially the display case in front) look so familiar…anyone care to make a guess?
Thanks to Ruth Rollitt, we now have some interior pictures of the Lam Looking Bazaar.
For those of you who were curious to know what the interior looked like, feast you eyes on these! 🙂
the staircase inside the building
left to right: the top floor, which became a cinema hall; the corridor on the upper floor
….that THIS (picture above) was the ORIGINAL design of the Lam Looking Bazaar! (click image to enlarge)
Thanks to Ruth Rollitt (daughter of the late B M Iversen), we have here the drawing of this famous building. Ruth also had this to say in her email:
The firm of Keys & Dowdeswell left Singapore in the early 30’s in disgrace, after the Board of Architects had found them guilty of professional misconduct and struck them off the register. He took over the jobs that were under construction, but it was not an easy time. My father was 25 years old and for the first time in his life – his own master. He had to pay for the ‘goodwill’ and no longer received a monthly salary. But gradually things started to improve, he got more and more work and by 1932 he was well established, making a name for himself. From this period he really came into his own and started producing work that became landmark buildings.
Ruth also mentioned that her father wrote to his wife, way back in 1931, about this ‘big job’ being a ‘very smart business transaction’.
We are indeed very thankful to Ruth for sharing with us this gem. 🙂
This was sent to us some time ago by Sybil de Roquigny-Iragne. I must say, those shop houses in the background seem familiar! Recognise them?
On a different note, taking a break and relaxing (like the youths in the picture) at parks/open spaces in Ipoh was once a luxury…..sadly, some of our parks/gardens are now disappearing….. 🙁
Yes folks, your eyes are NOT playing tricks on you – that IS an F&N bottle on the rooftop of the Lam Looking Bazaar! This form of advertising seemed quite common back then; there was a similar bottle on the other side of the rooftop (front part of the building) – which can be viewed here.
We thank KKFoong for this picture 🙂
We have here Nigel Jennings, together with Cedric, Harold, his mother and aunt.
What we’d like to draw your attention to are the toys at the bottom of this picture! Notice the pedal-car, the steam engine and the Meccano set 🙂
I confess to having played with a pedal-car in my younger days; what was YOUR childhood like?
We thank Nicholas Jennings for this lovely picture.
Aaron Ong sent us this photo and said:
“Just want to show you pictures of a model tower crane I made with Meccano. Those are my kids beside the model.
The boom of this particular model tower can swivel via a manual hand crank, and the trolley (with the yellow wheels) can traverse (run along the boom).
The hook is a heavy lead hook with quadruple pulley system to engage heavy loads and can be actuated via electric motor with reduction gear, (the red box at the other end of the boom).
While kids these days have loads of virtual fun with their ipads and computers I too had loads of real fun with my meccano, besides honing my engineering skills.”
Thanks Aaron.
Here we have a picture of Nigel Jennings on the verandah of Rose Cottage in the Cameron Highlands. He is wearing a green blazer and cap both sporting a school badge. We would love to know which school this was.
Inserted in the picture bottom left you can see the badge is an “S” and then a “T” or a cross amd possibly an “M”. No prixes except that you have helped Nigel remember and enhanced our site with more information.
Incidentally, Nigel was born in December 1924 so this photo is pronbly from the early 30’s.
We look forward to your comments.
This street scene seems familiar, but we can’t quite identify the place. Could it be Ipoh? Gopeng? Kampar? You tell us! Perhaps some of the shop signs might help.
Here’s a printable black and white copy of the Gopeng Heritage Trail Map.
We hope to get a better copy in the near future; when we do, we shall put a copy up on the blog 🙂
Were you part of the Hash House Harriers? This group picture (from Thomas Lee) was taken to mark their 600th run, back in July 1976 – when the Harriers finished their Kulim-Ipoh run.
Do they still have such runs today? Any HHH members out there like to tell us MORE?
Ruth Rollitt updated us about the moving of the golf club from Golf Club Road to Tiger Lane in a previous blog http://www.ipohworld.org/?p=3056. She also sent the following photographs.
Her comment that went with these photos said:
“When my father (B M Iversen) arrived in Ipoh in 1930 he was working for the firm of architects:: Keys & Dowdeswell. One of the projects he was working on was the renovating of the Ipoh Golf Club. I attach a photo of the club as it was then – from one of my albums. The other photo? Not sure?
The following year the firm folded and my father started up his own: B M Iversen – architect.”
So it seems that the original post http://www.ipohworld.org/?p=3056 was correct and the buildings shown were at the Golf Club Road site and around 1931/1932 moved to Tiger Lane and rebuilt with significant improvements by Ruth’s father.
Does anyone recognise the second photo as being part of the Royal perak Golf Club today?
Y K Choong sent us this photo in October last year and it went on the the pile called “Must do site visit”.
Well this morning I actually got out to Jalan Theatre in Pasir Pinji to find that nobody 25 years old or less appeared to have ever heard of the place. However an aged Chinese gentleman in a little wooden shack pointed out the large square indoor badminton court building that stands on the theatre site today. This was opened in 2004.
So, with apologies to Choong, here is his photo of what I think was the concrete projection room of the otherwise wooden theatre.
Does anyone remember anything about the Mayfar Theatre which I understood from this morning’s conversation showed Chinese movies.
I received the following picture and message by enail. I know many of you tried to help Nicholas find his grandfather’s grave. Well done everybody particularlu Law Siak Hong who did a great service for Nicholas and his family.
Dear Ian:
Some good news. Thanks to Siak Hong Law, my grandfather’s tombstone was not only located but restored. Hong, who I met through IpohWorld, very kindly arranged to have the stone’s inscription re-painted, so that it is now perfectly legible. Time and weather had almost completely washed away the lettering. After meeting great resistance from the cemetery’s owners, Hong, through much persistence, was finally able to convince them that this was a job worth doing.
Not sure if you’d like to post the attached photo taken by Hong, but if you do you can tell readers that the grave and its refurbished stone can be found at the Christian Cemetery on Jalan Tun Abdul Razak (formerly Connolly Road). The cemetery is west of the railway line; east of the line is the Anglo-Chinese School.
And to think that all of this was made possible thanks to IpohWorld! Thank you.
Best, Nicholas
Nicholas Jennings
The Konkey Game played in Ipoh & Surrounds
By IpohBornKid
Introduction: When the X generation was growing up, they did not have affluent parents who would buy them toys, hi-fi sets or computer games. They relied on their ingenuity and played games that cost nothing. These games were usually played in the open air about 3 pm onwards when the sun was not so hot and the breeze was blowing. In the weekends, it was played in the morning until 11 am and later in the afternoon.
In those days, there were abundant flat sandy soil or grass covered areas in vacant building lots and the compounds of the village houses. Children whose neighbours (aged between 6-12) were played together and they developed a strong bond among themselves. They grew up together and as they matured into adolescence, another generation of young kids took their place. It was healthy outdoor exercise and the parents were never worried about what their children were up to because they played with the children of their friends or neighbours.
The Game: The “Konkey” (name derived from English word “Donkey”) game is a team game similar to cricket. Instead of bat and ball, it has two sticks, diameter around 2.5 cm or less, and the long stick (LS) is about 50 cm in length with the short stick (SS) about one third of its length. The LS is equivalent to the bat and the SS is equivalent to the ball. In cricket, the ball is bowled by the bowler and the batsman defends his stumps with his bat. Similarly, in the Konkey game, the opening player launches his SS with his LS from a trench in the ground and he defends his trench with his LS.
Before the Konkey game starts, a trench is dug on the ground about 20 cm long, 5 cm wide tapering on the ends, and about 4 cm deep. Two sticks as described above are used as bat (LS) and ball (SS). The SS is placed on the ground across the trench and is launched by the LS. The most effective way to launch is to place the LS in near the front of the trench and below the SS. You can change the angle of launch by moving the LS left or right. Usually most launches are perpendicular to the SS. Pushing the LS into the ground, the launcher lifts his LS and propels the SS up in the air. This is called launching the SS (ball). Please refer to schematic diagram.
The game begins after two teamsare selected and a toss to see which team launches (bat) first. The launch team stay behind the trench and the field team spreads out in the field and strategically position themselves to catch the SS.
The first player in the launch team prepares himself to launch the SS with his LS, The launcher lifts theSS in the air and generally puts it in a direction where there is no field player to catch it. When the SS is caught by a field player, the launcher is out and the next launcher in the team takes his place. The team is all out when they have exhausted the launcher (all bowled out) and the points are totalled.. (See point scoring next). If the score is less than 100, the team change sides and the field team become the launchers.
\When the field players failed to catch the SS, it falls on the ground. At this stage, a field player will pick up the SS and attempts to throw the SS back into the trench (trying to hit the stumps) with the launcher defending the trench (like a batsman) with his LS. He can whack the SS stick whilst it is still in the air. The field player can try to catch it. If they did, the launcher is out. If not, the distance between the position of the LS and the trench forms the basis of points scoring. Using LS as a measuring rod, the launcher scores one point for each length of the LS measured. The score is cumulative for the team.
If the first measure is not taken,the launcher can ask for second throw. This is only safe when the SS is a considerable distance from the trench. The rule for the second throw is the same as the first throw. If on the second throw, the SS is caught, the launcher is out. If SS is falls on the ground, the distance between the SS and the trench is the basis of point scoring but this time, the SS is used as a measure. Hence, on the second throw, the point score tripled (since one LS is 3x the length of SS).
On reaching a 100 points, (arbitrarily agreed target points), the launcher team wins the game. However if all the launchers are out and the score is below 100, the team changes sides and the game starts again.
The penalty part of the game varies from village to village, town to town. In one version, the winning team player holds the SS in one hand, drops the SS and whack it with the LS held by the other hand. One of the player in the losing team then picks up the SS in his hand and runs towards the trench. As he is running, he has to say “Konkey, konkey, etc. all the way to the trench whilst the winner player gently whack his bum with the LS, After the penalty, the game starts again,
This picture (from Thomas Lee) needs no explanation. Steamboat restaurants have mushroomed around the place (there is one barely 1 km from my house!) and at a glance, these restaurants are often packed. What I’m curious about though is HOW/WHEN this dining experience began in Ipoh.
This is the house that was taken over by the church from the mining company French Tekka on Tambun Road for the original Novena. Designed by my father pre-war. It was demolished and a hotel stands where it once graced Tambun Road.
Such were the words of Ruth Iversen Rollitt (daughter of the famous Danish architech B M Iversen) in a recent email. The above picture was said to be taken sometime in the late 1930s (I’m making a rough guess, say 1938 perhaps?). Those of you who remember this building BEFORE it was demolished, do tell us more 🙂
We’re proud to annouce that we have another picture of this church, courtesy of generous parishioner 🙂
Seems like this picture was taken during the church’s annual Feast Day. Can anyone guess the year?
