5 - NEGRI SEMBILAN COLLECTION - PORT DICKSON/SUNGEI UJONG RAILWAY 1889-1890 - PORT DICKSON STATIONS

THESE STATIONS WAS BUILT FOR SUNGEI UJONG RAILWAY WHICH THEN OFFICIALLY OPENED IN JULY 1891 FROM SUNGEI UJONG (SEREMBAN TO PORT DICKSON)

HISTORY OF PORT DICKSON :

The name Port Dickson originated from the British High Officer, Sir John Frederick Dickson who was posted at the Straits Settlement during the end of the 19th century. Prior to being developed the area was formerly known as Tanjung (which means cape) among local Malays due to its geographic location at a small bay. The local Chinese and Indians on the other hand had named this place Alang or Arang (which means charcoal) due to its location near to an island known for its coal mine production and acted as supplier to the nearby areas.

Since Arang has rapidly grown into an industrial area while Tanjung is a fast developing town area, the Secretary of the Federated States, Sir John Frederick Dickson, had gazetted Tanjung be made into a strategic seaport as well as a retreat for British officials and farmers. In 1891, with aims to furthermore enhance the effectiveness of this new seaport, a 39-km railway track had been proposed to link Tanjung and Sungai Ujong (now known as Seremban). A plan was drafted out to allow various goods such as spices, rice, and tapioca brought by the trade ships to be transported from the port to Sungai Ujong by train. Furthermore, it has been ascertained that the railway lines and seaport has played a vital role in expanding the export trading of tin from the mines in Sungai Ujong. To facilitate the construction of these railway lines, the British had brought in labour all the way from India. With determined efforts, the railway was successfully completed and launched by the Secretary of the Federated States, Sir John Frederick Dickson. In conjunction with the official opening of the railway line, the British had formally changed the name of Tanjung to Port Dickson. From then onwards, the name has become renowned not just locally but also internationally. The success of this port has also paved its way to several development changes to its city centre. Wooden shop houses were demolished and replaced with brick masonry shop buildings. About 45 brick shop buildings have been built while applications have also been received for idle land along the coastline. Part article from Portal "Port Dickson Info"  http://www.mppd.gov.my/en/sejarah;jsessionid=028C9804D9A2A7D5D230078F71DFB57D