Port Klang

History

Klang was formerly the terminus of the government railway and the port of the State. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur. Rapid development at the new administrative centre in the late 1800s attracted businessmen and job seekers alike from Klang. At this time the only methods of transport between Klang and Kuala Lumpur were by horse or buffalo drawn wagons, or boat ride along the Klang River to Damansara. Due to this Frank Swettenham stated to Selangor's British Resident at the time, William Bloomfield Douglas, that the journey to Kuala Lumpur was "rather long and boring". He continued to suggest a train line be built as an alternative route. In September 1882, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham was appointed Selangor's new Resident. Swettenham initiated a rail link between Klang and Kuala Lumpur to overcome the transport problems, particularly of the tin mining interests who needed to convey the ore to Klang's port, Pelabuhan Batu. Nineteen and a half miles of rail track from Kuala Lumpur to Bukit Kudu was opened in September 1886, and extended 3 miles to Klang in 1890. River navigation, however, was difficult, as only ships drawing less than of water could come up the jetty, and thus a new port was selected near the mouth of the river as the anchorage was good. Developed by the Malayan Railway and officially opened 15 years later on 15 September 1901 by Swettenham himself, the new port was named Port Swettenham. Both Klang and Port Swettenham were already known as notoriously malaria prone localities with the port itself located on a mangrove swamp. Within two months of its opening, the port was closed due to an outbreak of malaria. Just a few years before, the British doctor Sir Ronald Ross…

Most-observed species

• Javan Myna

  Acridotheres javanicus Cabanis, 1851 · Aves
  1,470
• Yellow-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus goiavier (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  1,146
• Pink-necked Pigeon

  Treron vernans (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  1,034
• Zebra Dove

  Geopelia striata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  965
• Asian Glossy Starling

  Aplonis panayensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  916
• White-throated Kingfisher

  Halcyon smyrnensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  855
• House Crow

  Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  834
• Spotted Dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  764

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2004-04-29
  79 km SW of Bagan Pulau Ketam, Malaysia