Butterworth, Seberang Perai, Penang (11 December 2017)
Butterworth (GPS: 5.39552, 100.36688)(Jawi: باڬن; Traditional Chinese: 北海; Pinyin: Běihǎi; Penang Hokkien: Park1hai4; Tamil: பட்டர்வொர்த்) is the main town of Seberang Perai, and is often synonymous with the whole mainland area. It serves as the transportation hub for Penang Mainland, and increasingly, for the entire Penang State. The town has not yet existed when the British acquired the piece of land on the mainland and named it Province Wellesley after Richard Wellesley, the Governor-General of Bengal at the turn of the 19th century. There was however already a settlement by the name of Bagan, which means pier, and refers to the wooden piers or jetties that jut out of the coast as well as along the Prai River. At that time, there was already a river settlement on the other side of the river, which appeared in British maps as Prye.
Butterworth was only established in the mid 19th century as a counterpart of George Town. It was named after William John Butterworth, the Governor of the Residency of the Straits Settlement from 1843 to 1851. Throughout the over one hundred years of its existence, Butterworth had always played second fiddle to George Town. Butterworth was founded to be a transportation hub supporting George Town, a role it still holds today. This is where the railroad, road network, ships and ferry have their terminus.
Butterworth Railway Station is one of the major railway stations in West Malaysia. However, most travelers either continue to George Town or head south to Kuala Lumpur or north of Bangkok. Whether you plan to stay in Kuala Lumpur or George Town, you can book your accommodtion online before you arrive.
The British Recreation Club Building in Butterworth, now renovated and renamed Dewan Dato Haji Ahmad Badawi (29 Janaury 2009)
History of Butterworth
Butterworth gained significance from 1861 onwards, and the increase in mining activities in the Larut District propelled an economic boom that was experience by both Penang Island and Province Wellesley. Butterworth became the place where the railway station was built to receive tin ore from Larut. The ore is then transferred directly to steam ships docked at the wharves in Butterworth. From George Town comes railway passengers who bought their tickets in George Town, and were then transferred to the railway ferry to be taken to the awaiting train in Butterworth.
Today Butterworth continues to play its role as a transportation hub. The Butterworth Outer Ring Road cuts through the centre of town, allowing for rapid traffic dispersal across the town. The Deepwater Wharves are located to the south of the ferry terminal, Pengkalan Sultan Abdul Halim, while the North Butterworth Container Terminal is located to the north. There is a limited number of high-rise buildings in Butterworth compared to George Town.
Crossing the Prai Bridge, between Butterworth and Prai (20 October 2009)
Going to Butterworth
Butterworth can be reached by road, rail and ferry. The Butterworth Railway Station is a major train terminus and is served by trains from Kuala Lumpur and Hatyai; you can even visit Butterworth when you stay in Bangkok. Visitors by road to Butterworth exit the North-South Expressway at the Prai Interchange (Exit 162) and take the Butterworth Outer Ring Road to Butterworth, exiting at either the Deep Water Wharves Interchange or the Chain Ferry Interchange.
If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.
Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang
Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.
Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.
Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.
Disclaimer
Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.