Lebuh McNair, George Town

McNair Street, George Town, Penang (4 July 2019)

Lebuh McNair, formerly McNair Street, is a major artery road in the Seven Streets Precinct of George Town, Penang. Lebuh McNair forms a sort of spinal artery running from north to south across the Seven Streets Precinct. It starts at the junction with Jalan Magazine and ends at Lebuh Sandilands.

McNair Street was named after Major John Frederick Adolphus McNair, the acting Lieutenant-Governor of Penang between 1880 and 1884. McNair, who was born in England in 1828 became an employee of the British East India Company in 1845, at the age of 17. He was posted to Madras, India, where he became fluent in Hindustani.

In 1853, McNair was posted to Malaya working for the Madras Native Artillery under J.B. Westerhout, who was then the advisor to the government of the Straits Settlement. McNair was stationed in Malacca for a couple of years. Later on, he was transferred to Singapore, to be the private secretary and aide-de-camp to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, who at that time would be Edmund Augustus Blundell.

In 1857 McNair became the Executive Engineer and Superintendent of Convicts in the Straits Settlements, with responsibilities over Penang, Malacca and Singapore. He was also in charged of Public Works and the Jail in Singapore. His fluency in Hindustani enabled him to converse well with the Indian convicts, some of whom was given charge over the other prisoners as only McNair and his assistant were officers. He documented his experiences in managing prisons in Malaya in the book Prisoners Their Own Warders.

McNair was in 1869 the colonial engineer involved in the construction of Government House in Singapore, which is now called the Istana. He was also involved in the reconstruction of St Andrew's Cathedral.