Governor's Museum, Colonial museum at St Paul's Hill in Malacca, Malaysia.
The Governor's Museum is a building on St. Paul's Hill that displays objects connected to the region's administrative history. The rooms contain portraits, official items, and memorabilia from different periods of governance.
The building served as the official residence and office of the Dutch governor of Malacca in the 17th century, a role it kept under British rule and after Malayan independence. In September 1996 the Yang di-Pertua Negeri moved to Istana Melaka at Bukit Beruang, and the hilltop building opened as a museum in 2002.
The museum keeps part of the original room layout of the residence, and its displays trace the office of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri through the five governors who served after independence: Tun Leong Yew Koh, Tun Haji Abdul Malek bin Haji Yusuf, Tun Haji Abdul Aziz Abdul Majid, Tun Syed Zahiruddin bin Syed Hassan and Tun Syed Ahmad Shahabudin Al-Haj. Personal collections of these governors are shown, alongside their contributions to industry, agriculture, tourism, religion and administration, with the role of each Chief Minister also covered.
The museum is accessible via a climb up St. Paul's Hill, and the building welcomes visitors on most days. The space is small enough to walk through in under an hour, making it a good stop during a visit to the hill area.
The building served as the official residence of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri until 1996, the region's top administrative official. This shift from governing center to museum reflects how Malaysia's administrative structures changed after independence.
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