I’m sure many of you are grinning and nodding your heads at this picture!
Yes, this is what Medan Kidd looked liked in the late 1960s. Some of the buses shown in the picture have seen better days, but they still make their way round the town 🙂
There was some talk about giving this place a ‘face-lift’……I wonder what’s become of it?
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Ipoh has two very active Toastmasters Clubs and membership offers solutions to improve your personal skills.
As a special initiative the clubs are running a new awareness campaign with a target audience of students, age 18 – 25 who study at Institutes of Higher Learning.
If you are interested in taking advantage of this campaign please log on to the above websites, or contact:
C G Huan 012 558 1012, hcgiap@gmail.com (YMCA venue)
or Guna 012 516 2002, karmun0901@hotmail.com (Jln Chung Thye Phin venue).
We had a request for a picture of the famous Rose Villa. Here is one taken around 1982 (to see what it looked like inside, click here).
This mansion was once owned by Towkay Leong Tian – a miner and philanthropist. Sadly, the mansion (which was along Gopeng Road) is not there anymore. After it was demolished, the area became the site for 6 new houses.
We have here a rare picture of the Capitol Cinema, which was along Anderson Road, Ipoh. From what we’ve found out, this cinema was a ‘victim’ of a fire almost 20 years ago. Since then, the vacant site was turned into a car park. Sometime last year, the car park closed and the site is now under construction for a row of shop houses.
Can you guess the date of this picture? One clue would be the Kuomintang Flag flying above the large sign. Another clue would be the movie poster.
Mark Lay of Kinta Heritage recently informed us about the demolition of these pre-war shophouses – along the corner of Jalan Sultan Abdul Jalil and Jalan Lau Ek Ching . (see pictures below)
Notice that in the second picture (above), the frames of the door and windows are STILL in good condition. Sadly, they will soon be torn up and stacked on the ground (like the pile of planks in front).
Here’s part three of our little series! Can you guess the street? There are quite a number of clues in this one…so, keep those comments coming! 🙂
PSPA’s Brand New Musical Show, “Shiny Black Gold” depicts the life of an imaginary coolie who came to Ipoh from China to make his fortune from tin mining. In order to support the show, ipohWorld put on a small exhibition of artifacts which stressed the main aspects of the musical. Above you can see the story of the coolie at work and the dulang washer’s life.
The show is very true to life and also featured the coolie’s 4 Evils from which he suffered – The Triad Brotherhood, Gambling, Opium and Prostitution. This table features the last three, with old gambling tokens, a full opium smoker’s outfit and a book about local Japanese Prostitution – in 1921 there were at least 50 Japanese prostitutes resident in Ipoh.
Of course the coolies lived in the kongsi and here we feature communal eating by the light of an oil lamp.
Today, Sunday, is your last opportunity to see the show and visit the exhibition. There are two shows today at 4.00pm and 8.00pm and if you would like a ticket then there may be a chance if you phone 0125088818. Do it NOW.
Your ipohWorld hosts IKA and Felicia will be there to welcome you from 3.00pm.
Recognise this street? I’m sure you do…..especially those familiar landmarks on either side of the street 😉
For those who don’t know where this place is, keep following our blog – look out for the comments from those who know Ipoh like the back of their hand!
The picture may not be that clear, but do YOU know which part of Ipoh this is? The aerial view shot dates back roughly to 1967/68.
On the far left of the picture is the Ipoh Motors Ltd building…THAT should give you all a clue!
Happy guessing 🙂
This, the latest Kinta Nature Park flyer, has contact details and guide information, top right. As the text is a little small, a click on the picture will take you to a slightly larger image.
Enjoy.
We have here a Malayan Airways airplane, parked near the permetre fence of the airport. I’m sure it brings back memories of the Ipoh Airport a long time ago!
From what we’ve heard, there have been plans to revive this airport – anyone know MORE about this? Do share it with us…..it would be a shame if the airport is just left to waste away…..
This item was used by an Ipoh based, Kinta Valley surveyor in the 1950s. What is it? Sadly we have no budget for prizes – indeed, very little budget for anything, but if you get it right at least you can walk tall among your friends as the man who knows his Ipoh artifacts.
A second picture clue will be posted tomorrow if nobody has guessed it correctly.
So – Whatsit?
Well guys, you are all too smart for me and so I don’t need the second picture clur, do I? However the least I can do is put up the original item in both the closed and open position. So here it is.
So what about the most popular place in which it was probably used?
Perak Society of Performing Arts presents their very own in-house production titled Shiny Black Gold – a story recalling the ‘glory days’ of tin mining in Perak. Interestingly, the cast of this production are fellow Perakians!
This musical will be held at Taman Budaya (along Tambun Road), from Friday 20 May till Sunday 22 May 2011. Show times are 4pm (Saturday and Sunday matinee) and at 8pm, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The above brochure is an old version and will be replaced by the new one as soon as we get it.
For further details/reservations, please contact PSPA (05-5487814) or email them at pspa2011fest@gmail.com
We have here a picture of Cedric and an antique car (note the number plate!). This picture of Cedric and the Austin 7 was sent to us by Nicholas Jennings.
Now, what about the building in the background, which is under construction? Here’s a tiny clue: this picture was taken around 1961….so, this building was opened to the public the year after.
I know some of you have the answer already! We’ll be looking forward to your comments 🙂
I’m sure some of you remember what this part of Ipoh looked like – way back in 1967/68.
Of course, now….a LOT has changed! The SHELL station has been renovated a number of times. As for the row of shop houses beside the SHELL station; well the half nearer to the junction is now Maybank, while the other half has been demolished (sadly). Across the road is Jubilee Park, which seems to be a shadow of its former self. 🙁
So, what was it like in the late 1960s? We’d love to hear your many stories!
Yes, there was a Rex cinema in Kampar! Of course, it’s not in use now….last I checked it was boarded up.
Anyone care to tell us MORE about this place? We look forward to your comments!
Believe it or not, this is what Ipoh’s first railway station looked like in the late 1800s (before the present Taj Mahal-like structure).
Amazing isn’t it? It is interesting to note that:
“…the first section [railway construction in Perak] was an eight-mile line running between Taiping and Port Weld….[which] opened for traffic in June 1885. The construction was carried out by two divisions of Ceylon Pioneers, lent by the Government of Ceylon.
The first through passenger train from Perak was that conveying H.H. the Sultan of Perak and suite from Kuala Kangsar to Kuala Lumpur on July 17th of that year [1896] to attend the Conference of Chiefs of the Federated Malay States.”
The above quote and picture were taken from the book Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources.
Click here if you wish to see a coloured postcard and short history of Ipoh’s first railway station.
This was Tapah Road Railway Station in 1980. Old fashioned, rustic and clearly a leftover from the Colonial days that Malaysia seems to be so ashamed of. But those who feel this way won’t have to be ashamed of their history for much longer as we are told that KTMB are to demolish all the old stations. Kuala Kangsar, Batu Gajah, Tanjung Rambutan and all the others will soon be gone. And then travellers can enjoy the clinical atmosphere imparted by stainless steel and concrete, without having to look back at what life used to be like. However, if you wish to look back then click here where you will find a photograph of the station opening celebration in 1893.
Seriously though wouldn’t one or two of these old stations make great railway museums for the thousands of rail enthusiasts the world over? I thought Perak State wanted to encourage tourism!
Incidentally we are told that Tapah Road, being on the road leading to Tapah led to its name and that this name has drawn some criticism from local Malay linguists because it has a colonial ‘stain’ on it. A number of towns in Perak also have or had a similar ‘stain’ such as Slim River (still in existance), Port Weld (now Kuala Sepetang) and Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan). Tapah Road maintained its name because the equivalent version in Malay (Jalan Tapah) is not suitable as a station is not normally named after a road, but a place. History is fascinating.
The photograph is again courtesy of Jerry de Witt. Thank you sir for thinking about us.
Courtesy of Jerry de Witt, this photograph taken from a MAS aircraft in 1975 clearly shows the Kinta River winding its leisurely way across the valley on its way to Teluk Intan. But don’t miss the tin mines – those large brown patches alongside the river – for in 1975 there was still a tin mining industry here, albeit approaching its “last legs”. Look carefully and you can probably spot a dredge or two clanking away and wresting the black gold from the ground.
Not so long ago was it, just 36 years, but today even though fortunes were made locally we don’t even have a suitable marker of any sort in Ipoh to remember those days gone by or, as Dr Ho Tak Ming put it, when tin was king.
