Fort Point (Tanjung Penaga), George Town

Fort Point (26 October 2021)


Fort Point (GPS: 5.42097, 100.34481) is the tip of the cape in George Town where Fort Cornwallis is located, and in particular, the spot where Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah makes a sharp bend. This spot is called Tanjung Penaga in Malay, and has existed since before the founding of George Town by Captain Francis Light.

The name Tanjung Penaga is said to have been established by Nakhoda Kechil, the brother of Nakhoda Intan @ Haji Mohammad Salleh @ Raja Nan Intan ibni al-Marhum Tengku Pateh Sebatang, who was the pioneer Malay settler, who obtained permission from the Sultan of Kedah circa 1730 to establish a Malay settlement on the eastern shore of Penang Island. The settlement development into the Malay village of Batu Uban. Later on, Nakhoda Intan's brother Nakhoda Kechil is said to have extended the settlement all the way up the coast reaching Tanjung Penaga.

To be precise, the name Tanjung Penaga refers only to the tip of the cape, for the rest of George Town during that time of Nakhoda Kechil was still largely forested. That area was forested with ironwood trees (Mesua ferrea) which is known in Malay as pokok penaga lilin. From this name, we get the term "Tanjung", which is loosely applied as the Malay equivalent for George Town. Among the locals, both the Malays and the non Malays, George Town is commonly referred as Tanjung.

After Captain Francis Light arrived and established his settlement at Tanjung Penaga, he erected his defence fortification on that spot, and named it Fort Cornwallis. The fort has four pointed corners. The one at the tip of the cape is Fort Point. During the time of the British administration, this was also the meeting point of two roads, namely Fort Road and the Esplanade. Now both roads have been renamed as Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah.

Fort Point became known in Penang Hokkien as Kuan3na1 Kark3 關仔角, meaning "check point", for it was the point where visitors arriving on Penang Island undergoes immigration. However, strictly speaking, the spot where visitors actually passed through immigration is south of Fort Point, and is closer to where the Queen Victoria Memorial Clocktower is now standing.

Fort Point is on the Map of Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, Penang

Narrated Walking Tour of Fort Cornwallis and The Esplanade

Fort Point on Google Street View

(Jan 2021)

References