Plan of the immediate neighborhood 1960’s and early 1970’s
This is a sketch of my neighborhood in Menglembu. It also indicates where the family house has
moved from the early 1900’s to 1984. Within the span of 80 odd years the family
home has moved 3 times from (A) to (C).
Grandpa should have been one of the earlier settlers to come to Menglembu. He arrived in Malaya probably in 1900, when he was 17 years
old. He married a Peranakan (谢氏)
in 1904 at 21 years old, and had his
first son (锦荣) in 1905.
Location ( A )
After his first wife passed away (from childbirth as heard
from elders) and he married his 2nd
wife(鄒氏) in 1916. He his first
daughter was born in June1917 (莲英).
By then, he would have settled in his home in Kampung King (A). ( East Regrouping Area)
The eldest son married in June 1926 at age 21 to a maiden in the Leong family (梁氏). The
wedding photograph was taken in June 1926.
In the 1970’s heard from Dad (锦宏) that
he was born in the old house across the road.
The house in the 1926 wedding photograph would probably had been the
house By then, Dad was close to 2 years old, born
July 1924
Location ( B )
The family probably moved to location (B) in the 1930’s. The house was located across the railway line
between the police station and the surau.
The house included a big yard and an office. Grandpa
was in the timber business. The company’s name was Weng Cheong – 荣昌. The expanding business probably required him
to look for a bigger plot of land.
The yard was for storing logs, timber and planks and to park
the trailer lorries. The lorries were for carrying logs from the forest. The timber and planks were for the tin mining
industry to build palongs (wooden sluices), quarters and offices.
During the war (1941-25) when the tin mining & timber
business was disrupted, Grandpa diversified into cheroot
cigarettes. The office and yard were
converted into makeshift factory for making cigarettes.
Location ( C )
The family moved here in 1954, when the police station
expanded to build staff family quarters.
The original land size occupied three lots which Grandpa bought from an Indian owner. The area
was planted with coconut trees and there was a fish pond in the middle
lot.
The double story bungalow was originally located in Lahat. The ground floor was cement, and the upper
floor wood. The owner used it to settle
the debts owe to the timber business.
In 1984 the family
moved to Taman Sentosa near to the foot hill of Kledang when the new housing
estate was developed.
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