JALAN
BENDAHARA
FORMERLY KNOWN AS WOLFERSTAN ROAD
Jalan Bendahara is the main road leading in from the highway into the old town. Formerly known as Wolferstan Road, the location housed some of the finest entertainment of the day before World War Two.
From the grand Capitol Theatre that had the state-of-the-art sound system, to Moon and Lyric Theatres, the buildings that sat on this road boasted of then Malacca being as modern as its counterpart cities Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Wolferstan Road linked Riverside with the St Peter's Church. "It is perhaps needless to say that this road when completed will prove a great boon, for the congestion in the town is becoming almost unbearable." It was a road that represented the modernity of Malacca in the 1920s.
Besides theatres, motor car showrooms mushroomed up alongside. Photography studios, Central Hotel, and the infamous Meng Seng Charitable Association which was turned into a torture chamber during the Japanese occupation.
A NEW ERA BEGINS
Over time in recent years, with the influx of Indian-owned businesses, the road has become known as 'Little India.'
The recently restored St. Peter's Church, the newly developed Cheng Ho Cultural Space, Treasures Hotel and The Bendahari, all usher in a new era of old roots, new routes for Jalan Bendahara.
From Malacca, Voices from the Street, by Lim Huck Chin and Fernando Jorge.
