Mount Palmer and Pulau Betong: Penang’s Forgotten Southern Flagstaff and Watering Place

By Eugene Quah

February 2023 LEST WE FORGET
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A reconstruction of the Mount Palmer Signal Post that was completed at the end of October 1821. It also included a watering place at Teluk Air for ships to replenish fresh water. A Martello tower was built on the mainland shore opposite Pulau Betong island to protect shipping and deny pirate access to their base at the mouth of Sungai Betong nearby. Source: Eugene Quah Ter-Neng © 2022.
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AS ONE VENTURES further southward of Paya Terubong, the mountain pass brings one onto a winding hill road. This road climbs to a height of 316m, offering breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and coastline. It then descends towards the quaint town of Balik Pulau, where, on a clear day, the small, forested island of Pulau Betong can be seen in the distance. To the left of the island stands a hill once home to Penang's now-forgotten southern flagstaff.A Game...

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References
  • W.A. Clubley (1820), Letter to Acting Governor-General of India, Charles Theophilus Metcalfe dated 14 October 1820, D6: Penang: Letters to India (Bengal), NAS (National Archives Singapore), Microfilm No. 2727
  • J.J. Erskine (1820), Report prepared on 26 Dec 1820, read to Council on 11 January 1821, A15: Penang Consultations, NAS, Microfilm No. 3218.
  • W.A. Clubley (1820), “List of Hon’ble Company’s Covenanted Civil Servants”, B5: Penang: Letters to London pg. 239-240, Microfilm No. 3213
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  • William Edward Philips, J.J. Erskine (1820), “Road thro' the Passes of the Mountains” in a letter dated 24 Aug 1820, B5: Penang: Letters to London pg. 321, NAS, Microfilm No. 3213
  • Nicholas Belfield Dennys (1894), “A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya”, pg. 316
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  • Omar Yusoff (2013), “Cauder Moheedin Merican”. In Loh Wei Leng, Badriyah Haji Salleh, Mahani Musa, Wong Yee Tuan & Marcus Langdon (Eds.), “Biographical Dictionary of Mercantile Personalities of Penang”.
  • W.E. Phillips (1821), Minutes of the President of 22 Jun 1821, A15: Penang Consultations, NAS, Microfilm No. 3218
  • Marcus Langdon (2017), “Epitaph: The Northam Road Protestant Cemetery, Part I”, pg.256-257
Eugene Quah

is an independent researcher and writer who is working on a book tentatively called “Illustrated Guide to the North Coast of Penang”. He rediscovered the joys of writing after moving back to Penang from abroad.


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