Penang Swimming Club

Penang Swimming Club is a premier members-only club in Penang nestled along Tanjung Bungahs picturesque coastline. It is the oldest and wealthiest swimming club in Penang. It was founded by Europeans who were passionate about swimming. The early founders were young white men. The club was sited at Tanjung Bungah, which means the cape of flowers, a name derived from the seaside gardens. Tanjung Bungah was a sleepy fishing community served by a single meandering country road when the Penang Swimming Club was founded on 5 June 1903. At the time, there was no hotel in sight. It was significant that the founders were a group of young Europeans. It was an archaic rule back then that men who went to work in the Far East (mostly fresh out of school) had to be bachelors for the first few years. These young men had nothing much to do after work and besides their natural love of sports, it was said that their womenfolk contrived the idea of exclusive European clubs to prevent their young bu...