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Gurney Drive, Penang (19 May, 2012)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Gurney Drive, or Persiaran Gurney, is a seaside promenade along what was formerly North Beach, in George Town, Penang. Gurney Drive is famous throughout Malaysia as the place to go to enjoy the best of Penang food. This seaside promenade was named in honour of Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney, the British High Commissioner who was ambushed and assassinated by guerillas of the Malayan Communist Party on 6 October 1951 near Fraser's Hill in Pahang.

Gurney Drive sits on reclaimed land created off Teluk Ayer Rajah, the bay that curves between George Town and Tanjong Tokong. The intention to build a coastal road was already in the plans as early as 1930. The idea was the extend North Beach, as Northam Road (now Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah) was called. The first 510 yards of Gurney Drive was completed in 1934, and at that time, it simply extended the name "North Beach". This section of Gurney Drive was planted with Casuarina trees in 1962, and is a distintive section of the promenade. The road was known as New Coast Road. It was renamed Gurney Drive in 1952, after the original idea to rename Burmah Road to Gurney Road was not carried through.



Silverton, one of the many upscale condominiums along Gurney Drive (26 September, 2009)
© Timothy Tye using this photo



 The wealthy built beach-side bungalows here, many of which are today incorporated into the design of upscale condominiums. At the Pangkor Road end of Gurney Drive was the fabulous mansion of Kapitan China Chung Thye Pin, son of Kapitan China Chung Keng Kwee, occupied today by One Persiaran Gurney condominiums. Gurney Plaza, one of the more upscale malls in Penang, is located at the northern end of Gurney Drive.

Although Gurney Drive is often thought of as having some of the most modern skyscrapers in Penang, it is also where you will find handsome homes belonging to the well-to-do of yesteryears. One of these is the Loke Mansion. Also at Gurney Drive is the St Joseph's Novitiate.



View of Teluk Ayer Rajah from Gurney Drive (23 January, 2012)
© Timothy Tye using this photo



Gurney Paragon at night (28 January, 2012)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Shopping Malls along Gurney Drive

  1. Gurney Paragon
  2. Gurney Plaza

Further Reading

  1. The Story of Penang's Gurney Drive, by Syed Amran


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Hello and thanks for visiting! I'm Timothy Tye, aka Tim the Traveler! Penang Travel Tips is one of some seventy websites I've written to describe the whole world. I created it to tell you about Penang. In this website you can find everything you'd want to know, from essential arrival information to bus routes, tourist attractions, places of worship, businesses, residential properties, street history, street art, famous food, Nyonya culture, history and even learn Penang Hokkien!



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