Yes here it is having just passed over the Hugh Low Bridge. Proceeding at a steady, somewhat leisurely, pace, the Trichair turned left and looked as if it was going to the nearby market. The photo was taken around 10.00 am on 23 July 2013 when I overtook them on the bridge and having pulled […]
I’m refering to this black-beauty……this classic Mercedes (yes, it IS a Mercedes; if you look closely you can see the sign on the hood). This picture is taken from the Yeoh Family album. Judging from the car’s number plate, I’m guessing that this was taken in the early 1940s. I could be wrong though…..you experts out […]
Warned that something was “up” in Gopeng Road I dropped by this afternoon. But nothing was “up” however – quite the opposite – No 62 was on the way “down”. Yes, the Ipoh demolition team were at it again. So I dropped in on the Chinese foreman who seemed to agree with me that it […]
In 1999 the Perak State Government published a very nice heritage trail map of Ipoh. It was produced by our good friends from Penang, Lubis and Salma. One of the buildings featured was in Kampong Jawa and clearly the Government thought it had some heritage value as they included it in the map. It was abandoned then, but […]
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 […]
Yes those were the days when popping round the corner to buy a few groceries was a pleasure for there was always a friendly face behind the counter with time to chat. So different to the coldly efficient supermarkets of today. But what was your corner shop like? Any memories?
These were sent to us all the way from the US of A by Ian Latham. They show his father (top picture) and mother (bottom picture), during the early 1970s. Do you recognise the shop house in the second picture? Where in Ipoh is this place?
We have here the PCADA String Orchestra. Do you remember them? Perhaps they performed for the public (something like our Malaysian Philharmonic althouh a little smaller)? What’s become of them now?
Yes, this archway was decorated specially for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Notice the building that says ‘Borneo Motors’ (which is now a restaurant/pub called ‘OverTime’). Brewster Road was rather quiet in those days, wasn’t it? 😉 I wonder…..when was the facade of this archway renovated to it’s present design?
Photograph G And Photograph H Please, anything you can tell us about these will be helpful. Thanks.
Photograph E. Yes, we need help again please, but this one is quite different, a sports team and trophies but who, when and where? Photograph F. And now another class – Class 5B. Definitely SMI but we still need some help with who and when. Please click on the pictures to enlarge.
Here we have two contrasting Ipoh photographs from Sophie. The first she calls “Dressing for the 1940’s to 1950’s. It is no wonder that Ipoh got the name for having all the pretty girls. Just look at these! Sophie describes the photo as “Dressing for 1940’s to 1950’s. Four young ladies, two of them are sisters. The second […]
Here are two more school photos with almost no information. Again we seek your help please: Which School, Which Class and What Date? Photograph C. THis one said to be Class 3C, 1971, but which Convent? Photograph D. Said to be Class 4B but when? We look forward to your advice. More to come over […]
We recently received a batch of 10 school photographs with almost no information. In order to add them to our database archive we really need your help. If anyone out there can identify the school, class and year that would be a great help. If of course you have names that would also be a […]
We have seen a number of Ipoh’s young ladies recently and here we step back a generation or two. It is before the war came to Malaya, Hitler is causing problems in Europe while the world is struggling to recover from the 1929 depression. This was the era of the Superman comic (first published in […]
What a treat for a youngster to have an icecream on a hot Ipoh day. Just look at the small boy’s face. But here is another clue to the location. And just look at the face of the mother with folded arms on the left. What is she saying to her daughter? Care to guess. For […]
MI You may have noticed two comments and a Chatterbox entry from a new reader Yip Chee Whye (Chee Whye Yip) who is looking to find his old school friends of 1956 and in particular he is seeking Mr. Ooi Kim Huat and Mr. Eddie Che. He presently lives in UK but says he will […]
We seem to be getting quite a few old photographs to identify recently and therefore decided to give you all a treat today with an extra Tuesday blog. This well-worn photograph was taken somewhere here in the 1940’s. Just look at the fashion of the day! The question is – where is it? The owner thinks […]
You, our smart readers from across the world have so far managed to identify almost anything we have thrown at you. Now we are becoming so well known that we are being sent some photos that could be anywhere in Malaysia, like this one. But actually it is thought to be in the Ipoh area […]
And that is just about all we know about this picture which we are led to believe was taken in the 1960s. So come on guys and girls, stop looking at all those Bersih videos and photos and help us out with this one please. Judging by all the cups, shields and other trophys they […]
Fancy ‘IPOH’ being written in 4 different languages! To what we know, this picture was taken in 1958; we don’t know the place nor the people in the picture. Have you seen this multi-lingual signboard around the town? We await your comments and feedback!
“Tin Mining in Malaysia: the Osborne & Chappel Story” was launched today by YB Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Minister of Tourism Malaysia, in conjunction with the opening of Gopeng Museum’s second premises, the Heritage House, Gopeng. The book, written by David Palmer, who was part of O & C in Malaysia from 1960 until […]
Notice the hill in the background? Yes, this is the SAME hill which once ‘advertised’ the Mercedes symbol 🙂 Of course, now the symbol is gone….apparently it’s been replaced with 4 large white letters which spell out IPOH – almost similar to the famous HOLLYWOOD sign in California! But I will always remember the Mercedes symbol […]
From the recent blog posts, we know some of you out there know almost EVERY street in Ipoh! Which is a good thing, since today we have a little mystery for you – do you know which street this (picture above) is? Looking forward to all your comments! 😀
Can you guess this street? It’s somewhere in Ipoh, to what we know. Anyone knows WHERE?
Here we have Miss Telekom (centre), with the 1st and 2nd Runners-up. This was back in the 1950s. Do you remember them? The winner and queen of the contest is Ms Asmah and her runner up on the right is Lee Lai Quan (or Kwan). Can anyone give us the name of the other runner […]
Now here’s a sight for sore eyes! It is 1963 and the boys and girls (boys in drag!) of Pasir Puteh are putting on “Old King Cole”. Which one is you? Do write in if you recognise yourself or anyone else. And here we have Standard II in 1961. Wah didn’t you all look like little angels […]
Once upon a time, at the YMCA in Ipoh….. ….men and women (young and old) danced the night away! Was it a competition, or just another social event? When was this event held at the YMCA? Perhaps, some of you out there are in the picture! We await your feedback, especially if you were one of these […]
Wery well known and a beauty from young, when I came across the picture I could not resist putting it up. Who is she and what can you tell us about her.
Here’s a scene from the old Ipoh Airport. As you can see in the background, there’s an airplane with the words ‘Malayan Airways’ on it. Hence we think this picture was probably taken in the early 1950s – by 1963, the airline was renamed Malaysian Airways Ltd (MAL). I remember in the late 1980s or […]
This arch was set up over the Hugh Low Bridge, in Ipoh, somewhere in 1947. This was before the grand parade – which was held in support of the Kuomintang Party (led by General Chiang Kai Shek). Notice the three flags at the top of the arch: the Perak Flag, the Kuomintang Flag and the Union Jack. […]
Familiar?……..it’s at the lower end of Hume Street, not too far away from the Panglima Mosque. Some of you must be nodding your heads in agreement – “yes, I know this place!”. Well, for those who do know…………do tell us MORE: perhaps there’s a story or two behind this structure.
This is Ms Chung Lai Leng – a pretty Ipoh girl, who gave up selling welfare lottery tickets to become an apprentice with a dressmaking firm. She was photographed by Francis Lee; her picture, along with several other Ipoh beauties, appeared in the 1960s magazine “Ipoh: The Town that Tin Built” (published by the Ipoh […]
Chan Tai 陈黛, the charming girl in this photo, used to live in a small village in the district of Shun Tuck 顺德 in the province of Guangdong, China in the 1920s. This district was renowned for producing silk. Her family owned a small silk worm farm. She helped them to cultivate silk worms and weave […]
This postcard is somewhat a continuation from our previous post about the Kinta River. The picture here shows the entrance of the British Residency; the date was rougly in the 1920s. I doubt the building is still there (if it is, it’s probably in ruins)…but does anyone know where it was? It is said to […]
Recently the subject of Perak’s vehicle registrations cropped up and as we have a great photo that demonstrates the situation perfectly I thought it was worth putting up to dispell the entirely untrue tale that Perak has the ‘A’ because we had the first cars in Malaya. Absolute rubbish!. Here we have two vehicles side […]
Ladies and Gentlemen, Above is the first draft cover of a new book that will be published as soon as we can fill the blank pages with your reminiscences of growing up in Ipoh. Text will be in the English language. ipohWorld will take on the task of collating, editing and dealing with the publishing and […]
“Oh No!” I can hear you say, “Not the clock tower AGAIN!”, but please be patient because this postcard sent to us as a scan was bought here in Ipoh in 1955 and there is something quite different about it. “Different! What is different?” Well, out of the many similar pictures we have seen from […]
This is one of the many mansions which belonged to one of Ipoh’s rich towkays. I’m sure some of you recognise it! The picture below shows what has become of the place in recent times…. ….a club! Notice the changes, especially the windows and balcony. Anyone know WHEN the mansion was turned into a club?
Hi, The Ipohworld’s World blog is wonderful. I tried to find in your posts information about one building which is located near the roundabout at Gopeng Road and Jalan Tambun, diagonally opposite Yuk Choy Primary School, but I haven’t been able to. A large furniture shop is now built in front of […]
Here are 3 boys, posing outside the Mayfair Hotel. Does anyone know where it was? Or, is the hotel still there today? The donor of this photograph is just as stumped as we are…….maybe someone out there could tell us more!
Just behind this wall which is across the road from Chung Thye Phin’s mansion (now the Kinta Medical Centre) is a wonderful old mansion which we hope is under massive restoration rather than renovation. It presently looks like this. What a great house this must have been in its day. But by now you might be […]
Othman Sabrin kindly sent in this photo for publication. Thank you Sir! He said: “This is a picture of Persatuan Kedet Bersatu Malaysia from Anderson School, Ipoh in 1975. I studied at the school from 1973 until 1975. Our School Principal was Mr Lam Kok Hon (sitting in the centre with the moustache).” Now Old Andersonians, […]
Yes, just a few metres from the Beetle lies this grand old vehicle. If you don’t recognise it then have a look at this: It is of course an MG and it is in that graveyard for old vehicles, right in the centre of Ipoh, called Kg Kuchai. This is is one of the last […]
The actress above was said to have “such wonderful eyes”. This picture was taken in the year 1931, and yes: she’s from IPOH! Any guesses as to WHO she is? (clue: her 1st movie was with Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn)
As you folks out there know by now, we like guessing-games. Here is a postcard from the 1980s, of a “busy street stall” in Ipoh, selling moon cakes, fruits, lanterns, etc. Now, all YOU have to do is tell us WHERE in Ipoh this street is (truth is: we aren’t sure ourselves!). No prizes for […]
Lip Po left China, with a Catholic priest, and came to Malaya at the age of 5 in 1877. Having completed his education, he later went into mining. He however lost his mine in Falim and then ventured into selling cold drinks on the street. With that, he saved up some money and bought a 10-acre […]
This lovely lass is said to be seated at the balcony of an old shop house in Ipoh. We’re not sure where about this place is, so some help would be nice. According to the kind soul who gave us the picture, one of the buildings in the background is the HSBC bank – which […]
This photo shows a crocodile that was shot in the Kinta River which runs through Ipoh Town. The hunter was an European (referring to the hunter’s attire ) who helped the villagers to put an end to this crocodile’s menace. And the villagers were so excited to see the dead gigantic croc. We will be happy to […]
Putting up great old photos is always a pleasure and this one is no exception! Taken in Ipoh and probably dating around the 1930s this is a lesson in fashions of the times. Just look at the styles of clothing old and new, east and west that are included in this group. Front left is […]
Before 1890s, all mining operations in Kinta were financed by people in Penang, who advanced the tin-miners money with which to pay their coolies and smelt their ore. In return, the advancers were paid by the consignments of smelted tin-ore. But in 1890, a new development took place which entirely changed the system. In 1889, Mr. Muhlinghaus, […]
The shooting team was in 1959 at Ipoh. Mr. Richard Clarke, from 11th Independent Field Squadron Royal Engineers is the second from the left front row. Mr. Richard Clarke has told us more about this photo and his time in Malaya during the Emergency. His story can be found here.
What can be said about this picture other than how can an owner allow his property to deteriorate to such a level as seen here. In a world where it is said that investing in property is one of the safest things to do with your money, it would be normal to maintain that investment. […]
Most people remember 1948 as the start of the Emergency, but this envelope from Ipoh’s Station Hotel reminds us about something else. We were under British Colonial Rule; The British Military Administration was not long gone (and we were still using their stamps); and we were celebrating the Silver Wedding of King George VI and […]
For those of you interested in what’s happening in your local Ipoh community and if you’d like to receive the Ipoh Echo in your email inbox, you can now do so by subscribing online at: http://www.ipohecho.com.my/ IT’S FREE and the site has recently been upgraded for higher interactivity. One of the subsequent benefits which will […]
“Perseverance is the key to success”. This is the motto that drives the poor dulang washer on the performance of her work. It is obvious to the meanest intellect that a dulang washer does not live a life of ease and luxury. She earns barely enough to feed herself and her family and her life […]
by Sir George Maxwell, KBE, CMG. When Sir George first travelled from Taiping to Batu Gajah by gharry, sampan and pony in 1891 most of the Kinta Valley was under primeval forest. Sir George who retired as Chief Secretary to the FMS Government in 1926, celebrated his eightieth birthday in 1952, but like all men […]
A friend visited the Birch Memorial Clock Tower and brought us back these pictures. The top two are at the top of the steps as you approach the tower from the lower road. Rotting food and goodness knows what else to navigate past as you visit Ipoh’s heritage. Bottom left is the base of the […]
Lam Looking building in Laxamana Road, Ipoh was destroyed by fire. Heritage buffs rejoiced when they heard that the bazaar had a new owner who was to restore it. Sure enough it was fenced and the rubbish cleared, but since then nothing has happened. Does anyone know when and what is happening next? The Top […]
Does anyone recognise this family and their car, registration AA3. The photo came with some others from the albums of the Lau Ek Ching family of Ipoh and Pasir Pinji.
Just published, this book includes a history of the school, recollections of years gone by and some thoughts on the way ahead for the next century. It is available from the Old Andersonians Association who can be contacted via the Old Andersonians Club, Ipoh. It is priced at RM130. The scan does not do justice […]
Published by Media Masters, Singapore and Authored by Sybil Kathigasu, Chin Peng and Ian Ward and Norma Miraflor, Faces of Courage stands as the first in-depth study of Malaya’s legendary war-time heroine, Sybil Kathigasu, and the impact her dauntless decisions and actions had on the members of her immediate family. An essential aspect of this […]
This newly published book tells stories about Ipoh around 1957 and Merdeka when Malaya was in a time of change with the British on their way out and Malayans ruling their own country for the first time. Consequently the Colonisers and the Colonised had to come to terms with their new relationship. Similarly the citizens […]
In 1920, Wong Jee Seong (Wong), an immigrant from China, was employed as a bank clerk in Ipoh, earning the princely sum of $28 per month. In those days this was a handsome wage as a full bag of rice only cost 12 cents. A regular attendee at St Michael’s Church in Brewster Road, Ipoh, […]
“A good storyteller never lets the facts get in the way.” Dave Allen, Comedian. Before the Japanese invasion in 1941, there was plenty of entertainment for Ipoh people although many could not afford it as the world recession had hit the price of tin and rubber badly and Ipoh, relying on these products for survival […]
The stylish modernity of Ipoh owes it to some landmark buildings by B M Iversen, a Danish architect who came to Malaya in 1928 and started his own practice in Ipoh in 1936. Over a period of 40 years, except during WW2 when he and his small family took refuge in Australia, he has created […]
In response to a request herewith our version of the history of ACS Ipoh. If you believe we have made any mistakes please let us know. “The Anglo-Chinese Boys School Ipoh was the first English school, as well as the first Christian mission school, in Kinta. It was established by the Methodist Episcopal Mission in […]
But can you name them all please?
But can anyone name them for us please?
Definitely Ipoh, but who are they? We would dearly love to know.
“To eat durian is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience.” Alfred Russell Wallace, The Malay Archipelago. Despite being written almost 150 years ago, that is one of the nicer quotations describing the King of Fruits. More modern critics are likely to use descriptions that vary from being simply rude to […]
As part of our objective of saving the history of the Kinta Valley for future generations we try to gather original memories about days past. Here is one about Rickshaws. Do you have any memories we you can share with us please “Anna Down, locally born, but now from UK, remembers that as a child […]
