Mount Erskine is a residential

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

within the city of George Town in the Malaysian state of

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. This hilly neighbourhood is located northwest of the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

, between

Tanjung Tokong Tanjong Tokong is a suburb of George Town, Penang, George Town in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. It is located at the northeastern coast of Penang Island, northwest of the Central George Town, Penang, ci ...

and

Pulau Tikus Pulau Tikus is a neighbourhood within the downtown core of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Named after a rock just off the coast of Penang Island, this upper class neighbourhood is home to Eurasian, Thai and Burmese communitie ...

. Notable for its large Chinese cemeteries established by the

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

, Teochew and

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

communities on

Penang Island Penang Island is the main constituent island of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located off the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Malacca Strait, with the Penang Strait separating the island from Seberang Perai on the mainla ...

, the neighbourhood witnesses a considerable increase in activity during the annual

Qingming Festival The Qingming Festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day, Ancestors' Day, the Clear Brightness Festival, or the Pure Brightness Festival), is a traditional Chines ...

Etymology

Mount Erskine was named after John James Erskine, a member of George Town's committee of assessors around 1810; this committee would become the predecessor to the present-day Penang Island City Council.

History

The Chinese cemeteries in the area date back to the early 19th century. The southern cemetery, nearest to Gottlieb Road, is managed by the United Hokkien Cemeteries and serves as the final resting place for

community. Meanwhile, the northern cemetery is owned by the Kwangtung and Tengchow Association, a joint organisation that represents the

and the Teochews. The first tomb within this cemetery dates back to 1795. The two large cemeteries in Mount Erskine did not deter urbanisation from creeping into the area. In the 1970s, residential estates surrounding the cemeteries were created, particularly around Pepper Estate to the north and Hong Seng Estate to the west. Apartments, such as Taman Evergreen, were also constructed later. Among the more recent issues affecting this neighbourhood are the continuing development of the hilltop, which has been flattened for the construction of more residential properties, and the risk of landslides at Hong Seng Estate.

Pearl Hill

The Mount Erskine neighbourhood is named after ''Mount Erskine Road'' which led to the hill now known as ''Pearl Hill'' (''Bukit Mutiara'' in Malay) but was the original ''Mount Erskine''. It was also called ''Mount Olivia'', after the wife of

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...

. Pearl Hill Sdn Bhd began developing the hill in 1974. Since then, the developer’s name caught on instead of the project name, ''Mount Evergreen''. Pearl Hill is now an upscale neighbourhood with bungalows, Pearl Hill Villa, Pearl Hill Condominium and a Chinese temple.

Transportation

Mount Erskine Road is the main thoroughfare within the neighbourhood, cutting through both cemeteries towards Vale of Tempe Road to the north. Residents within this neighbourhood are served by three

Rapid Penang Rapid Penang (stylised as ''rapidPenang'') is a public bus brand operating within the George Town Conurbation in Malaysia. Established in 2007 as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it serves as the main public transport system within the sta ...

bus routes, namely 104, the Pulau Tikus Loop (PTL) and the Congestion Alleviation Transport (CAT) Tanjung Tokong route. The former links Mount Erskine with George Town proper, as well as the neighbouring

Tanjung Bungah Tanjong Bungah is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located along the northern coast of Penang Island between Batu Ferringhi and Tanjong Tokong, about northwest of the city centre. Tanjong Bungah is locally know ...

and

suburbs. The PTL and the CAT are free-of-charge transit routes within

and

respectively.

References

{{Penang Neighbourhoods in George Town, Penang