Learn About Us

The unique heritage club since 1885

One of the oldest clubs in Malaysia, THE NEW CLUB (TNC), is situated at a site which has a panoramic view of the azure Bukit Larut, the scenic Lake Gardens with the raintree branches dipping into the water and the district officer’s residence overlooking the historic playing field, the Esplande (Padang Perbandaran). It is situated on a road, Jalan Kelab Baru, Taiping, so named after our club. It was founded in 1885, then known as Perak Club for the social life of colonial British officers and their families. The British Resident restricted the membership to the high ranking British civil service officers and tin miners while the planters had no place in the Club. There was some misunderstanding, the majority of the senior Perak Club members resigned and formed “The New Club”. Those involved in forming TNC were Dr Shepherd, Lefroy, Gray and Aylesbury. The name TNC still remains till today.

The golf course was designed by G.A.Lefroy in 1893. The Club house was built a cost of RM($)10,000 and was opened the following year. It consisted of a reading room, a billiard room, a card room, a large dining hall, and five residential chambers and at the rear was a croquet pitch. The members of the TNC started playing golf on a course near the club, and the enthusiastic gold players formed the earliest golf club in the country and named it "The Perak Golf Club" and had its office in TNC. It is now the second oldest golf club in South East Asia. It boasts an affiliation to 70 foreign and local clubs and was the only golf Club to be affiliated to the earliest golf club in the world, St Andrew's Golf Club in Scotland. The early development of the club was due to H.L.H. Tate who was the Club Secretary in 1903 and to honour him for his contribution to the club, a room was named as "The Tate Room" after him.

At the foot of Bukit Larut ( Maxwell Hills), with beautiful flora and fauna, is a scenic waterfall with cascading cool clean water flowing from the tributaries in the hill. TNC took the opportunity and built a family size swimming pool in the pristine surroundings and named it Taiping Swimming Club which was exclusively for the members only. When the Club built its own new swimming pool within the Club premises it handed Taiping Swimming Club pool over to the Taiping Town Council to turn it into a heritage pool to attract tourists. In 1907 the club membership rose to 270, comprising of government officers, miners and planters, and its membership was limited to British nationals only. Australians were not allowed in the club but were allowed to play golf and had their refreshments at a shed outside the club.