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Penang's Rubber Rollers |
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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. As of 28th February 2025 it is 212. 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. The first page covers Sungai Pinang to Balik Pulau (town), this 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. Below Nibbinda above Balik Pulau (22nd November 2019) There are 4 rollers at a house, here is an unmatched pair, the one on the left is of a relatively unusual (and I think quite 'modern') design - for more similar click here, see here or two more near Santarama in Balik Pulau.
These are not a proper pair as both are 'flat'. The horizontal one is from China, there is a better picture of an identical plate on another page. The 'normal' roller looks similar to the ribbed one above, they may have been the original pair..
Jalan Tun Sardon (updated 5th February 2020) The following were found on the left side going up Jalan Tun Sardon from Balik Pulau. It has turned out to have the highest density of rollers of any area in Penang, in one fabulous afternoon we discovered ten. A house some 500 metres south of the bus station had two pairs. The older types were not fully accessible, the plain one appeared unexceptional and the 'McAlister' was only the second we have seen.
We were told the other pair were from China and I would be happy with that description, they qualify as 'modern':
The next three pairs were found near the lower part of the road. The first carries a new name 'Toh Sin & Co Penang SS'. The same information is in Chinese and the trademark is an anchor. Yuehong says they would have been agents - the lighting made it impossible to get an effective picture of the characters / letters.
'Sandilands Buttery Penang' was a new name but perhaps not surprising given other discoveries.
I am never less than delighted to meet a 'Cherry Tree' roller and even though it was paired with a more mundane roller it got my first day here off to a perfect start.
After which this pair carrying 'Tan Ewe Aik Singapore' was very welcome, we have seen very few from this source, see Part 4 for a similar example.
The third pair from the first day are sadly both modern and anonymous, the owner knows nothing about them save he estimates they are 50 - 60 years old.
Yet another 'Cherry Tree' was the last one found going up. The sun was too far round to photograph the lettering effectively.
More will no doubt appear here in due course... |
