|
Penang's Rubber Rollers |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This is part of a series of pages on relics of Penang's rubber industrial heritage. The others are:
This page covers some of the machines which we have discovered during our 2019 - 2020 visit, in addition to those covered elsewhere from 2018 - 2019. We have found our 'new' rollers by revisiting familiar areas but from different angles, checking what appear to be dead end roads / paths which and visiting smaller areas where hiking opportunities are limited. Best of all, Yuehong has developed a very successful salesperson's patter designed to elicit the required information even from those who disposed of their own rollers some time ago. Started as a single page, these latest discoveries have come at such a pace that it has been divided to keep things manageable. By 15th March 2020 the total was 81 making 194 in all. Solely for my own convenience the 'new' rollers are being added in location order, north to south from Sungai Pinang to Balik Pulau and on to the south-west rather than by date or type. This first page covers Sungai Pinang to Balik Pulau (town), the second page Jalan Tun Sardon / Anjung Indah and the third page onwards to the south west corner of the island and round to the main hill. Sungai Pinang (18th November 2019) This pair were discovered in the valley above the goat farm. A year earlier we had been told by a nearby farmer we know quite well that there were no more in the area save a couple which he directed us to. Like many others, he was completely wrong! Equally, in many cases, farmers have directed us to machines which we would never have found without their help.
They appear similar to those we have seen elsewhere. The first is marked 'G16' and '20 in'. The second has an aluminium painted plate. The Roman letters appear to say 'Hock Cheong Foundry' and 'No 19, Market Lane, Penang' which we have seen before (click here to see it). However, Yuehong says the Chinese characters are not the same...
Above Titi Kerawang (10th February 2020) This contrasting pair was found at an abandoned house high above the falls (10th February 2020). The plain roller appears to be a 'modern' Chinese type while the other old 'Cherry Tree' type has a completely new name 'Keat Sin Leong Company' on a plate riveted to the machine, no doubt this was a local agent.
This single example (2nd December 2019) was spotted near the road above the electronically controlled gate in an area which is some way from any residual rubber while we were taking a short cut. There is an incomplete similar but not identical version of this machine in the Balik Pulau valley and a similar complete but not identical version above Pondok Upeh. As such it is the only one of its kind.
Sungai Pinang (12th January 2020, updated 4th March 2020) We found a cluster of four houses each with 2 pairs of matching rollers: The first shows a pair of classic Cherry Tree Manufacturing Company rollers: Given half a chance they would have come home with us.
Just up the road at the opposite end of the time scale were a large pair with 'Soo Hock Lin Traders' on the crossbar, there are quite a few similar but the only other marked pair are at Pantai Acheh not very far away.
The next pair were 'arched' but did not look to be any great age. There had been lettering on them but it appeared to have been ground off.
The final pair were difficult to photograph but appeared smaller versions of the 'Soo Hock Lin Traders' machines above. We are seeing more and more of these now. I don't think they are particularly old.
A nice pair of standard rollers in good condition was found above the nutmeg factory (4th March 2020):
A rather sad single roller was found below the PBA water treatment plant. (4th March 2020):
Above Jalan Chai (25th November 2019) A pair of small rollers which look to me to be from 'Leong Chuan' although they have no identification on them:
At the top of the Bukit Elvira Road (15th March 2020) This single plain standard roller was fund outside a modern house.
Below the 'Temple with the View' on the Bukit Elvira Pass side (8th December 2019) This was a treasure trove of 4 rollers. The first two are clearly a pair, the ribbed one bears a new name 'Hung Tong Penang' and the other has 'Patent Handle'. As seems quite common, the ribbed one has a metal cross bar and the other would have had a wooden one.
The third splendid roller is undoubtedly the other half of the pair we saw on the other side of the hill, last time around. The fourth roller is somewhat nondescript and bears no identifying marks.
Below the 'Temple with the View' on the Bukit Elvira Pass side (28th December 2019) This pair were not far from the quartet immediately above.
The plain roller is just that, 'plain'. The arched striated roller has G16 and 20 in like the example above but it is 'criss-crossed' instead.
Balik Pulau Valley West Side (28th February 2020) A pair of rollers from 'Tan Ewe Aik' found behind the Christian Cemeteries along the Bukit Elvira Road. Similar examples have been seen before, there are a pair in Part 4, Yuehong tells me that there is a subtle change on the Chinese characters, something which not surprisingly passes me by.
Balik Pulau Valley East Side (4th January 2020) A pair of rollers we had somehow missed in our first sweep, there are 10 of them within a few hundred metres of each other which gives an indication of just how many there must have been on the island at one stage - I would think it would have been well into 4 figures. The appearance of the plain roller on the left is misleading, it was caused by shadows from plastic netting hanging from its roof.
Balik Pulau Valley East Side (22nd November 2019) A pair of rollers each with a 'Leong Chuan & Co Singapore plates. There was no time to tidy them, I had a pack of dogs yapping behind me.
Below Nibbinda above Balik Pulau(4th January 2020) We were shown a fascinating survivor here, a board which was half of a pair used to prepare rubber sheets before smallholders had access to rollers. They would have bolted them together and trampled on one to do the necessary. No doubt, they would have been saving hard to buy a roller!
This would have imprinted '371' on the sheet. It turned out that this was the official number of the house - each one in the hills is so identified (by the land office I assume) and this is used to collect 'assessment' (ie some kind of council tax).
Nearby was what were clearly a pair, we were told they were much older than the other pair and I would readily agree with that. It's a shame there are no identifying marks on them.
More will hopefully appear here in due course... |
