Gurney Drive

Gurney Drive
Neighborhood in George Town,Penang
Other transcription(s)
 • Malay Persiaran Gurney
 • Chinese 新关仔角
 • Tamil குர்னே இயக்கி
Country Malaysia
State of Malaysia Penang
City George Town
Gurney Drive
Gurney Drive in Nov 2008

Gurney Drive is a popular seafront promenade within George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The road is also one of Penang's most popular tourist destinations, famous for the street cuisine sold from food stalls located along the seafront. In recent years, the construction of high-rises and shopping malls have also led to Gurney Drive being proposed as the second central business district in George Town.[1]

Previously known as the New Coast Road, it was completed in 1936 along what was then known as the North Beach, and renamed in 1952 after Sir Henry Gurney, British High Commissioner in Malaya (1950–1951), who was assassinated by the guerrillas of the Malayan Communist Party during the Malayan Emergency.[2]

Over the years, the beaches along Gurney Drive have largely been lost to coastal erosion. More recently, a land reclamation project at nearby Tanjung Tokong has reversed the erosion, leading to the accretion of silt and mud off Gurney Drive. Mangrove saplings have sprouted in the mud, which is now frequented by egrets and other birds as well as mudskippers. There have been suggestions that this area, formerly earmarked for reclamation under the suspended Penang Outer Ring Road project, be reclaimed for a recreational park or allowed to be developed into a mangrove forest.[3]

As of 2016, the shoreline off Gurney Drive is being reclaimed for the purpose of creating a public recreational park named Gurney Wharf.[4]

History

Common redshanks wading in the water off Gurney Drive, Penang.

Gurney Drive sits on a reclaimed land created off Teluk Ayer Rajah, the bay that curves between George Town and Tanjung Tokong. The intention to build a coastal road was already in the plans as early as 1930 after the idea of extending North Beach, as Northam Road (now Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah) was called. The first 510 yards (470 m) of Gurney Drive was completed in 1934, and at that time, it was simply named "North Beach". This section of Gurney Drive was planted with Casuarina trees in 1962, and is a distinctive section of the promenade.[5]

Gurney Drive was initially named as New Coast Road, then when it was renamed to its current name there was a debate over why the road should b the Municipal Commissioners wrote direct to Lady Gurney. She took the change very bravely and even offered to help with regard to the statue or bust. There were negotiations with a sculptor in London, David McFall, who agreed to do the job for 500 guineas or $4,500. When the recommendation for the provision of $6,000 for bust came up before the Finance Committee, it was decided not only to defer the provision of a bust but also that the drive should continue be called Gurney Drive. In 1962, a councillor was reportedly suggested that the council should consider renaming Gurney Drive to "Casuarina Drive" and "Casuarina Beach", since that the double rows of Casuarina trees are planted along the seafront promenade.[6]

Gurney Drive was once a sandy beach where people could collect seashells i.e. siput remis or small mussels which were abundant back then. The sea water was so clean and pollution-free that it became a venue for dragon boat races from the 1960s to 1980s. However, such excitement of these events and the clear water is much lost now. Back then people would swim in the sea and fishermen would return to the beach with their catches, especially for fishes and king crabs along the shore.[7]

Gurney Drive had many prominent pre-war houses, colonial bungalows and the College General Complex, which was once used to train Catholic priests in Thailand, India, China, Japan and Myanmar. These prominent landmarks had now been largely replaced by hotels and modern shopping centres.[8]

Today, Gurney Drive is home to the famous shopping malls - Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon - hotels and luxury high-end condominiums.[9]

Landmarks

Affluent beach-side bungalows were located here, many of which are today incorporated into the design of upscale condominiums. At the Pangkor Road end of Gurney Drive was the fabulous mansion of Kapitan China Chung Thye Phin, son of Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee, occupied today by One Persiaran Gurney condominiums.

While Gurney Drive has some of the most modern skyscrapers in Penang, it is also where opulent luxurious homes of the past still stand. One of these is the Loke Mansion. Also at Gurney Drive is the St Joseph's Novitiate, which is a historic building which is part of the St. Joseph's Training College that stood next to the original College General Complex, which is currently occupied as part of Gurney Paragon.[10]

Shopping centres

Gurney Paragon at night

Food

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre is one of the largest and most well-known local eateries in Penang. It has been relocated a few times, and is presently located at the northern end of Gurney Drive, just before the Gurney roundabout, between Sunrise Tower and Gurney Plaza. The Gurney Drive Hawker Centre has been around since the early 1970s, and is probably the best known place for visitors to Penang to savour the local hawker fare. Over the years, the price at the hawker centre has risen higher than at coffee shops elsewhere in Penang, due to popularity of the hawker centre among out-of-town visitors and general commercialisation. Food sold at the hawker centre include Char Koay Teow, Hokkien Mee, Jiu Hoo Eng Chye (spinach with cuttlefish), Koay Teow Th'ng, Lok Lok, Mee Goreng, Jawa Mee, Mee Rebus, Pasembur, Rojak, Satay, Soya Beancurd (Douhua), and many more.[11] The hawker centre has both a halal and non-halal section.[12]

Gurney drive food court

Condominiums

Hotels

References

  1. ↑ "Penang DAP rep: Put all projects in Gurney Drive on hold". 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "Penang's Gurney Drive bund turns brown waters jade green". AsiaOne. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  5. ↑ "Gurney Drive".
  6. ↑ "Beach along Gurney Drive just a Memory".
  7. ↑ "Beach along Gurney Drive just a Memory".
  8. ↑ "Beach along Gurney Drive just a Memory".
  9. ↑ "Beach along Gurney Drive just a Memory".
  10. ↑ "Gurney Drive".
  11. ↑ "Gurney Drive".
  12. ↑ "Gurney Drive". Tourism Malaysia. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
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