Latest update – The Tanjung Tualang Dredge
This article was taken off today’s NST. We hope this project goes through as planned, if only to preserve this important piece of our history.
tin mining
Our “Shiny Black Gold” Exhibition – Last Day
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 […]
‘Shiny Black Gold’
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 […]
New Book Hot Off the Press – “Tin Mining in Malaysia: the Osborne & Chappel Story.”
“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 […]
Ipoh-Born Joan Marjorie Joseph ……
We received the following email and a number of family photographs recently from a lady named Judy and, as we usually do, would very much like to help with this enquiry which reads: “I am researching my family history and trying find out as much as possible – of whatever type, good and bad – […]
A Grand Home for a Tin Mining Elephant
The photograph shows the view from the gate of the Matang Historical Complex which was originally Ngah Ibrahim’s fort built in 1865. It was initially simply a home for Ngah Ibrahim, who after his elephant went tin mining became a powerful and wealthy tin miner, but he fortified it to save himself from the Chinese triads […]
Perak’s First Tin Miner was an Elephant!
This model of a full size elephant and handlers stands in the entrance to a building in Perak. Legend has it that one day he ran amok into the jungle and when he was finally caught he had a silvery substance smeared all over his left front leg. When his handlers had quietened him down […]
The Gopeng Coolie Lines
This picture was taken a little over a year ago and shows the original accommodation for the tin mining coolies, known as the “Coolie Lines”. Here the coolies would eat and sleep when they were not slaving in the mines or visiting those places of entertainment in the town that provided either female company for […]
A Great Kaulfuss Photo – “Chinese Washing Tin in Perak”
This photograph was one of literally hundreds that the famous German photographer took around 1900. August Kaulfuss was born and educated in Rohnstock, Silesia. He served in the German Navy for a couple of years then worked in the photographic studio of Otto van Bosch in Frankfurt. He arrived in Penang in 1883 and soon established a photographic […]
Dredging Up Memories
Some time ago Jeya mentioned that it is still possible to visit a bucket dredge some 10Km from Batu Gajah on the Tanjung Tualang Road. This is dredge number TT5 and it is open to visitors for a small entrance fee. You may walk on the dredge to get a feel for its massive size […]
Taiping, 1958
The picture shows an old , open cast, tin mine in Taiping during 1958. We are wondering what had happened to this mine. Can you help us ? The scene is of course very typical of an abandoned mine with the mine itself now full of water and the sheds falling down. However the Palong still […]
A Day in the life of a Dulang Washer
“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 […]
KINTA Almost 120 Years Ago – A Very Different Place
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 […]
“AS RICH AS THE BEATRICE MINE”
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, […]