The History of Ipoh

Ipoh is the capital of Perak Darul Ridzuan. It is located in the Kinta District, 205 kilometres north of Kualal Lumpur and 170 kilometres south of George Town, Penang. Iooh is the fourths largest city in Malaysia.

Ipoh was developed from the Malay village of Palau along the banks of the Kinta River. The tin rush of th 1880's caused the town to boom. By this time, Ipoh consisteed of about 340 houses and about 4000 people. On 1st June 1892, a fire broke out and destroyed over half the town. The damage was estimated at $100,000 Straits Dollars.

The Great Fire of Ipoh gave planners the opportunity to lay out the streets in a more orderly grid pattern, ant the town was rebuilt in time fot hte second tin rush. Vast number of people, especially Chinese miners, descended upon Ipoh, transforming it inot a business and social centre. The town that tin built became known as the 'City of Millionaires'.

Ipoh's geographic location in the rich tin-bearing valley of the Kinta River made it a natural centre of economic growth. Throughout the 1920's and 1930's, the town continued to grow rapidly, largely as a result of tin mining and rubber production in the surrounding region.

Ipoh was invaded by the Japanese on 15th December 1941. During the Japanese occupation, Ipoh was made as the capital of Pera, in place of Taiping. In March 1942, St. Michael's Institution became headquarters of the Japanese administration. After liberation in 1945, Ipoh remained the capital of Perak.

Ipoh gained Municipal status on 31st May 1962 and was granted City status on 27th May 1988.