Sungai Lembing Museum, Kuantan, Pahang
My husband got some work to do at Sungai Lembing Museum last December and as he knows that I am very much interested in covering my birth state, Pahang, he said I can tag along. So off we went to Kuantan with our son sleeping at the backseat. It was 7am, he was not ready to wake up just yet. It was school holiday so I was not so strict about it.
We reached Kuantan around 11am with a stop along the highway to get our breakfast.
Sungai Lembing Museum is one great looking museum. Being a fan of architecture, I thought this building is very interesting as it has the British verticular colonial architecture features. The uniqueness of this museum lies in the fact that it used to be a residency of mine officer working with The Pahang Corporation Limited (1887-1906) and Pahang Consolidated Company Corporation Limited also known as PCCL (1906-1986).
The Sungai Lembing Museum was built to re-live the glorious days of Sungai Lembing as Pahang’s richest manufacturer of tin. Once, this city was even dubbed the Malay States’ very own El-Dorado as it was here that a special settlement for British officers was located. The town was built in the 1880s when the Pahang Consolidated Company Limited was given a 77-year lease to mine the area. In the 1940s, about 1,400 people worked in the mine. The tin mine were closed in 1986 due to high operational costs and low yields.
We went inside the museum and as the ground floor is still under renovation, we went up to the first floor gallery to see the collection. The gallery is divided into 7 segments; Tin Mining History, Geology and Geomorphology, Mining Arcade, Mining Memoir, Mining Economy and Tin Mining Method and Tools/Clothing. The arrangement of this museum is according to historical chronology so that visitor will understand the history better.
Let’s go through some of the exhibits I captured from the gallery:
A poster that shows (from top) a factory building at Sungai Lembing, V.B.C. Baker, the General Manager of PCCL and his sister Nona Baker and a row of senior officers and their wives, 1941.
Information about tin mining history.
My son reading about mines before I call him to pose for the camera.
Trays made of wood used to pan ore.
From top; iron chisel, oxygen tank and tin ore barrel.
Manual typewriter at the PCCL administration office, circa 1940s – 1950s.
Tunnel lamp.
These and many more at the first floor gallery. I am hoping that you take your children here to learn more about Sungai Lembing history. And I also hope that by the time you visit, the ground floor is ready to greet its visitors.
Here are some useful information you need to know before planning your visit here:
Visiting Hours: 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Admission: Free
Address: The Headquarters of The Department of Museums Malaysia (East Coast Region), Sungai Lembing, 26200 Pahang
Contact: Tel : +609 541 2377 / 2378, Fax : +609 541 2377
Take the chance to visit nearby attractions like Pelangi Waterfall and Gua Charas after the visit to the museum. Or….if you are up to it, visit the actual Sungai Lembing Mines and experience the living museum. I’ll cover the latter soon. Didn’t get to visit waterfall and cave though. Some other time perhaps. Cuti-cuti Malaysia lagi nanti.
Yassin on mini mox. This mini mox was the main vehicle to carry four people at a time from the office building to the mine area.
15 Comments
Syuq
Melawat muzium macam ni biasanya akan lebih menarik kalau kita boleh ambil tahu cerita tentangnya dulu. Bila faham cerita, baru seronok dan faham tengok peralatan yang dipamerkan.
Jadi, kalau ada rezeki saya ke sana nanti, mesti saya akan rujuk blog K.Em dulu 🙂
emila
Betul tu Syuq. Melawat muzium boleh tambah pengetahuan kita. Kita ‘kaya’ setiap kali kita melawat muzium.
azah
masa duduk kuantan, sibuk praktikal sampai tak ke mana-mana.. huhu.
azah
zaman praktikal tak bergaji. :p
nice info kak emi.
sukalah!
azah
komen banyak2. yay!
azah
malam ni last…huhu
reduan
kalu dtg melawat mkn angina dgn family dgn wife n anak2 sesuai tak dtg sini
emila
Sesuai juga sebab banyak tempat menarik di sini. Encik Reduan boleh cari hotel di bandar Kuantan dan bawa keluarga melawat museum ini dan juga ke Air Terjun Pelangi dan Gua Charas. Sambil itu boleh juga melawat ke Lombong Sungai Lembing. Banyak pengetahuan yang anak-anak boleh dapat tentang sejarah Sungai Lembing.
Yukino Hinata
looking at those antique stuffs, e.g: typewriter, tunnel lamp etc. *jawdrop*
cikcloudy
kalau ke sg lembing jgn lupa ke bukit panorama… bleh google.. mmg famous bukit tu
cikcloudy
satu lg kat sg lembing ni terkenal dengan air terjun pelangi
imaisha
biasa dengar nama bukit ni 🙂 tapi tak pernah lagi sampai.. lama tak mendaki bukit-bukau, gunung-ganang semua >.<
imaisha
oh, kenapa nama pelangi? berwarna-warni ke air terjun tu? hehehe.. menarik sungguh namanya~
Puterii Ariska
Itu museum nya terletak di malaysia ya?. saya dari indonesia salam kenal.
emila
Yes, of course. You can google Pahang and see where it is located.