Launch of Ipoh Heritage Tour

Posted by Steven Lee, Acting Secretary, Ipoh City Watch


Dear members and friends,

Members of ICW were at the recent launch of Ipoh Heritage Tour. The Tour is a weekly free conducted walking tour of heritage sites located in the Old Town section of Ipoh. The Tour is held on every Saturday and starts at the Railway Station. The report by Ram Naidu on the launch and the first walking tour is below.

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IPOH HERITAGE TOUR

Large enthusiastic crowd waiting to start the Tour

“During the Japanese occupation a bomb exploded here shattering the windows of this church,” said our guide Peter Bucher pointing to the 100 year old Church of Saint John the Divine. This and many more grim stories were unfolded to us as we walked the heritage path down memory lane in the “Ipoh Heritage Tour” .

Some tourists took advantage of the free our

More than 150 participants from the various associations and NGO’s converged at the Ipoh Railway Station in the early hours on 07.08.10. Heart pounding Bangra drumbeat welcomed the participants, thus creating a carnival
atmosphere. The Heritage Tour was flagged off at 8.30 am by the State Exco for Tourism, Dato' Hamidah Othman. I registered my participation as an Ipoh City Watch committee member.

Ram Naidu (left) with Col (Rtd) Fathol, a well-known figure who is also the past Chairman of ICW

There are 24 heritage sites in Ipoh Old Town and many residents hardly realize the rich history behind each site. For instance, Ipoh was invaded by the Japanese on 15th December 1941. During the Japanese Occupation, Ipoh was made the capital of Perak, in place of Taiping. The Royal Ipoh Club was used by the Japanese Army as a laundry house for officers based at the nearby St Michael's Institution which became the headquarters of the Japanese Administration in Perak in March 1942. After liberation in 1945, Ipoh remained the capital of Perak.

Ready to start

Also present to kick start the tour are Bangra drummers

Ipoh City Watch should be proud of itself to use the clock tower as its logo as there is history behind this tower too. This clock tower was build in 1909 as a memorial to JWW Birch, the 1st British Resident of Perak who was assassinated in Pasir Salak in 1875. One should stop to admire the beautifully colored panels portraying famous figures from world history. You may also be surprised to note that Ipoh built the 1st multi-storey car park in the country in 1960, and that’s the DBI car park opposite old town Public Bank.

The fine weather on that day complemented the walk. The Heritage Tour walk duration took approximately 2 hours to unwind starting from Railway Station through Club Road, Clayton Road, Hale Street, Post Office Road and ended at Hugh Low Street (try figuring out the new names of these old street names).

M Gokoolaram Naidu
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Attached are photos taken during the Tour. There are photos of the Bangra drummers and the large enthusiastic crowd waiting to start the Tour. In one photo, you can find Ram on the left and Col (Rtd) Fathol, a well-known figure to many of us being a past Chairman of ICW, on the right. All of us should take part in one of the walks to find out more of the history of this city that we live in.