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Dhoby Ghaut is the site at the confluence of Sungai Pinang and Sungai Air Terjun. It got its name from the ghaut, or stone steps built by Indian laundries.
Dhoby Ghaut (13 January 2011)
© Timothy Tye using this photo
Indian laundries have been operating here since the earliest days of Penang history. In the early 19th century, they were said to be headed by a laundry matron, whose real name is lost to time, but is generally known as Ranee Dhoby, meaning "laundry queen". Ranee Dhoby is said to have sold the William Edward Phillips the stretch of land on the south bank of the Sungai Pinang, paving the way for him to bring supplies by sampan for the construction of his mansion, known today as Suffolk House.
Today the stone steps are all but done. In their place are concrete embankments. An old, abandoned shrine stands by the bank. It was probably built by the early laundries. The design, with the tringular niches for oil lamps, resemble that of South Indian architecture, similar to the Nagore Shrine. There are still a number of Hindu temples in the area, the biggest being the Dhoby Ghaut Temple and Sri Rama Temple.
Indian laundries are still operating at Dhoby Ghaut. You can see them as you pass along Jalan Air Itam. Their laundries continue to flutter in the breeze by the banks of Sungai Pinang and Sungai Air Terjun.
  
   
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