The name Batu Gajah, is presumably derived from two large boulders that resembled elephants found along the Kinta River. Folklore claims that huge elephant figures were made of stones to scare away the elephants that destroyed the villagers' sugar cane crops.
History
Famous for its tinmining long before the Independence Day of Malaya, Batu Gajah had been an ideal place for Chinese immigrants to stay and work during those years. This contributes to a significant percentage of Chinese in the population of Batu Gajah today. The Indian Settlement village at Changkat has a large Indian population of Tamils and also Punjabis who built one of the oldest Sikh temples in Perak. Batu Gajah had an established pre-war British English school, which was renamed Sultan Yussuf Schoolafter the war. The Sultan of Perak DYMM Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-lah is an alumnus of this school. Formerly known as the Government English School, it was founded by Mr. Malai Perumal Pillay in 1907. The school was built from the rubble of an old jail. Over the years, it has produced many successful students. Batu Gajah since lies on the bank of Sungai Kinta, a little downstream from the major confluence of Sungai Raya. It started out as one of the many villages of mukim Sungai Terap, developed under its titular chief, the Sri Amar DiRaja, the early 19th century.
Features
The attractions here include two golf courses, Kinta Golf Club and Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Course, and nearby pre-independence castle built by a Scottishrubber plantation owner, Sir William Kellie Smith: Kellie's Castle. There are many hawker stalls and restaurants serving food such as noodles, laksa, and Indian-Muslim mee goreng and mee rebus. Youths spend time at cybercafés and around the localsupermarket. In recent years, Western style food franchises such as 7-Eleven, KFC, Marry Brown, OldTown White Coffee and Pizza Hut opened branches in the town. A supermarket named TF has opened and is in business.
Development
In recent years, Batu Gajah has seen a lot of improvement. In September 2012, Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd., one of the major electric locomotive manufacturers in China, agreed to build a rolling-stock factory in Batu Gajah.
Transport
In 2007, Batu Gajah received a new Batu Gajah railway station. Near Kampung Pisang at the southern end of town, it replaced the old station at Jalan Pusing which is being turned into a museum and then foodstalls. In addition, the Malaysian railroad operator, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, is constructing a new central workshop in the vicinity of Batu Gajah to replace its facility in Sentul. Located near the new railway station, the centre will house repair workshops, training facilities and staff quarters. The center was scheduled for completion in August 2009 at a projected cost of RM 430 million. A new four-lane highway connects to the Ipoh-Lumut Highway at Seputeh and ties to the North–South Expressway at Gopeng. The highway passes near the new railway station through Bemban at the West side of town.
Des Lock, New Zealand Olympic rower, was born in Batu Gajah
Amy Mastura, a famous pop artist and actress, was born in Batu Gajah
Yuna, a tudung-clad musician, who has been popular after her single hit song was born in Batu Gajah. Her grandparent live in Kampung Sungai Terap, Batu Gajah.
Some heritage buildings and landmarks in Batu Gajah that are famous throughout Perak:
Kellie's Castle
Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu Temple of Kinta Kellas Estate
Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge No. 5
Sultan Yussuf School or SMK Sultan Yussuf, the oldest school in Batu Gajah, established in 1907
, the second oldest in Malaysia after the .
Batu Gajah old courthouse established in 1892
St. Joseph Catholic Church
Kinta Golf Course
Batu Gajah Hospital
Royale Hotel Batu Gajah
God's Little Acre: A cemetery for the British pioneers, military servicemen, policemen, tin miners, planters and civilians named after the memorial cross erected by the Perak Planter's Association and others to commemorate their lives in fighting the Communist Insurgency 1949–1960.
