The Victoria Clock Tower is located near the harbour of Georgetown, and is a distinctive landmark of the city and Penang Island. Georgetown is a city of history, one of the few fully inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is where Europeans began their exploration of Malaysia. Now it is a city of record number of colonial buildings - palaces, religious buildings, mansions. The first construction of the British on the island was Fort Cornwallis. It was erected in 1786 to defend against attacks by pirates from Siam and Burma. A century later, a clock tower appeared next to the fort.
Its construction was started in 1897 by Chi Cheng Yok, one of the wealthy men of Georgetown's Chinese community. This local Chinese millionaire dedicated the future tower to the jubilee of Britain's Queen Victoria. The height of sixty feet (18 metres) symbolised the number of jubilee years of the reigning lady. The queen did not live to see the construction completed, in 1902.
The tower was built in the Moorish style fashionable in the late 19th century - with beautiful wall carvings, shaped columns and semi-columns, decorated friezes, intricate cornices and other elements of Maghreb architecture.
The tower was built in the Moorish style, which was fashionable in the late 19th century.
During the Japanese bombing of the city during World War II, the clock tower tilted slightly from the blast wave, but stood firm. The tilt is not too noticeable, and overall the structure looks like an ornate addition to the Esplanade and Fort Cornwallis. The Victoria Clock Tower stands in a roundabout, allowing it to be seen from all sides..
The clock on the tower is a working clock, chiming to tell citizens and tourists the exact time.
The Victoria Clock Tower is a popular tourist attraction.
