The Esplanade is the site on
Penang Island where Captain
Francis Light, a trader for the
British East India Company, first landed on 17 July 1786. Having obtained the island for the
British Empire,
Light then ordered his ships to fire silver coins into the then forested area to entice immigrants to clear as much land as possible.
Fort Cornwallis was also constructed next to the cleared field. The field, now known as the
Padang, was the place where
sepoys from
India, who were deployed to
Penang by the
British East India Company, disembarked from their transport vessels. The
Padang has been used for recreational purposes since the mid-19th century. A bandstand, donated by
Cheah Tek Soon, a local businessman, was erected at the Esplanade, providing a stage for music bands to entertain the public. The
Padang was also utilised as a cricket ground; a two-storey pavilion, designed by Wilson & Neubronner, was built in 1908 by the then Penang Cricket Club. Its rival, the Penang Recreational Club, had also erected a similar structure at the Esplanade for its supporters. However, these structures were destroyed during
World War II, when Allied bombers targeted the Esplanade, which was at the time used by the
Imperial Japanese Army. The
Cenotaph, which had been constructed to honour the Allied personnel of
World War I, was also reduced to ruins. After the war, the Cenotaph was rebuilt and reopened in 1948. ==Activities==