The World Heritage

Jubliee Clock Tower,
George Town, Penang, Malaysia

I have always curiously wanted to see how things were like 10, 20, or even 100 years ago. Be it a person, architecture, transportation, landscaping or anything that we use in our daily life. One does not live long enough to witness changes that take place every single second in the eternity of time.

I have taken some photos of the heritages in George Town that have existed some hundreds years ago. I would share them here from time to time. The first one on the list is the Jubliee Clock Tower.

This Clocktower was built to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. This Moorish style clocktower at the junction of Lebuh Light and Lebuh Pantai is 60 feet tall, one foot for each year of Victoria's reign. It was built as a gift by a distinguished local Chinese millionaires (his name was engraved on face of the tower) -- Cheah Chen Eok Esq (Note: Esq.= modern use of Mr.). There were opinions that his intention was to flaunt his wealth in the eyes of the British administrators. Queen Victoria never visited Penang, nor did she ever live long enough to see her clocktower completed. The Queen had died before the tower was completed in 1902.

If you pay a carfeul attention, you will realise that the clocktower leans to one side. That's the legacy of all the bombs dropped around it during the World War II that destroyed the government buildings nearby.