In the background is none other than the Fraser & Neave Ltd Aerated Water building. At the bottom right, there are railway tracks leading towards the F&N building. We don’t know who the gentleman on the bicycle is…neither do we know the date this photograph was taken.
We look forward to your comments – especially if YOU are the gentleman on the bicycle! 🙂
With reference to one of our previous posts, and a special request by Zul, we’ve put up the plaque – which acts as a ‘memorial’ for the brave elephant….
This signboard was erected by the (then) British Government after the accident – around 1894.
You might wonder why these three men are pushing their boat up the Perak River towards Kuala Sepetang, originally known as Port Weld, the site of the first railway in Malaya that connected the port to Taiping Station (the then capital of Perak), rather than doing the obvious thing of riding in it. But the title of this post (with apologies to the composer) may have given you the answer, but if not then a glance at the next picture surely will.
Yes they are bringing in their daily harvest of cockles, for Kuala Sepetang is famous for supplying fresh, machine washed Perak cockles across the Malayan Peninsula and has been for many years. Now there’s a bit of heritage that many people are not aware of, even those who regularly enjoy the little crustaceans.
Kuala Sepetang, as Port Weld once used to export, not cockles, but tin and that was the rhyme and reason why the railway was built in 1884 using Ceylonese labour. But that lucrative business has of course disappeared, nonetheless, Kual Sepetang is still a busy little fishing port and besides the cockles which mostly leave by lorry, is a great place for traditional seafood dishes.
Why not drop in on the friendly folk there and have a restful day off. You know you deserve it! By the way, the prawns are excellent as well and that is personal experience talking.
This grand old picture dates from 1894 when a bull elephant gallantly refused to move off the rail tracks, close to Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan) in defence of his herd against what he saw as an intruder into his domain. Unfortunately the train, which had previously killed a calf elephant in the same place, was doing some 80 kilometres per hour and the driver could not stop in time. The two therefore met head on.
The net result was one dead elephant, three coaches derailed and two dead railway workers who died from their injuries sometime later. A number of businesspeople and other passengers were also injured.
This event is marked by a signboard at the spot of the collision, erected by the British Government.
These Malayan Railway railcars designed by the Brtish and named the Wickham Armoured Railcar, were used during the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960 to carry bullion and other valuables to protect them from the Communist terrorists (CTs). Subsequently they were used as Public Works Department Inspection Trolleys. One example is on show at the Royal Malaysian Police Museum in Kuala Lumpur. It’s a place well worth a visit.