A place called Homestead in George Town, Penang

Nowadays, people know this heritage mansion only as the main campus of the Wawasan Open University in George Town, Penang.

Actually for a good many years - at least 70 years - it was the family home to the Yeap family.

Homestead was built originally for Lim Mah Chye in 1919 by James Stark of Stark & McNeil, a Scottish civil engineering firm but Lim Mah Chye's son, Lim Chin Guan, sold it to Yeap Chor Ee in 1933.

It has been said that Lim Mah Chye deliberately built his mansion to block the view enjoyed by his rival, Quah Beng Kee, who owned a mansion called Columbia Lodge right across the road (which is today the Maple Gold restaurant).

However, I believe it was more about blocking the fengshui rather than the view because in the 1920s, Quah Beng Kee suffered financial ruins when his ship crashed into the port in Deli, Medan, and he had to pay for the damages. His shipping company was taken over by Lim Chin Guan but before long, Lim Chin Guan also suffered due to the great depression and he had to sell Homestead to Yeap Chor Ee.

Once, I was briefly shown the title deeds to Homestead but it was in so fragile a condition that I just looked, not wishing to touch it.

The mansion sits on a four-acre land at 54 Northam Road (also known as Millionaire's Row).

The main building's floor plan is E-shaped and the story goes that its design was a tribute to Elizabeth I.

An annexe, which served as the kitchen and quarters, was added later to the building which connected to a mini Operetta next to the sea. There was also a stable for horses and a small pier for berthing yachts or boats.

This was how Homestead looked like in the 1980s and 1990s with an immaculately kept lawn at the front.

Beneath the porch was a huge black, vintage Daimler. Nobody ever remembered seeing it driven on the roads since the 1980s. Maybe it was, but I wouldn't know.

There were two entrances from Northam Road but the first gate was permanently locked and visitors and families alike were required to use the second one.

As one entered through the ivy-covered gate, the main building would loom on the left. But if you were to follow the gravel path, it would lead first to the stable and then the wide, spacious courtyard behind the building.







This next photograph was taken from the third floor of the Menara BHL Bank. The mansion's balcony would have been a great place for sun-bathing if not for the various multi-storey buildings that now line Northam Road.











Finally, a bird's eye-view of Homestead as it used to be. You can see the front lawn and the wide open courtyard at the back. Unfortunately, the courtyard, stable, annexe and Operetta building are all gone, given way to modern development ever since Homestead was donated to the Wawasan Education Foundation in 2006.

Yes, Homestead was once home to three generations of the Yeap family - Yeap Chor Ee, Yeap Hock Hoe and Yeap Leong Huat - but no more.

(FOOTNOTE: Lim Mah Chye's great great grandson is Lim Bian Yam, born in Penang in 1933 and is renowned for his talent in cookery and floral art display.)