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THE EARLY PRESS IN TAIPING The first newspapers in the Malay States were printed in Taiping in the 1890s, beginning with the Malay weekly Seri Perak and the Tamil paper Perak Varthamani and followed by the English biweekly Perak Pioneer and Native States Adviser. The publishers for all there papers was the Taiping Press, later renamed Perak Pioneer Press. Old Saints Church The first Anglican church in the Malay States opened in 1886. The timber building was designed by G.A. Lefroy and the site donated by W.V.Drummond, a planter from Shanghai. In 1898, the graveyard was already "much besprinkled with the tombstones of many a young man stricken down in the heyday of youth, or British official who, after spending the best years of his life in the service of the State, has failed to gain his pension, and now lies buried here..." The Secretary to Residency's House The house was built in the 1890s, atop a hillock called "Jelutong Hill", from which many of the early photography views of Taiping town were taken. It is presently the District Officer's residence. The rounded porte cochere is a typical feature of many grand Perak houses.		Old Kota Mosque The oldest mosque in Taiping, with an intriguing six-sided facade, was built in brick in 1897. It was originally a Hanafi mosque used by the Indian Muslim community of Kota. In the early 20th century it was given over to the Malay community and called the 'Malay mosque''(Masjid Melayu). Within the old burial ground is the mausoleum of a learned man called Sheikh Makhbuli. Taiping Market, Market Square The Taiping Market consists of two building, the old Market built in 1884 and the New Market built in 1885, each one a timber post and Straus structure, "220 feet long by 60 feet wide, concrete floor and iron roof", with a middle clerestory. Possibly the largest non-indigenous historic timber structure in the country, the Taiping Market is also Malaysia's best-preserved example of a major 19th century market building. The Residency The Assistant Resident's house, built in 1884 for over $19,000, was subsequently occupied by the Resident of Perak. Mubin Sheppard later described it as "a cavemous, single-storied building, raised on rotund pillars sixteen feet above the ground. "what remains are the brick pillars, which decorate the garden of the modern rest house.

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REVISED 05 July, 1998