The town has a rich history, owing to its strategic location close to the many islands of the East Coast. Should you ever be passing through, consider visiting the Mersing Museum.

The museum is in the vicinity of Mersing’s town square, close to the ever-busy jetty where tourists board boats to go island-hopping.

The museum’s white walls and blue roof are distinctive of most Johor government buildings. At first glance, the museum is clearly well taken care of.

The Mersing Museum was opened in May 2016 by Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor himself, with the initial idea for the museum receiving the sultan’s personal approval.

For that reason, a large painted portrait of the sultan hangs in the lobby, greeting visitors as they enter. On that note, entrance is free.

The museum receives about 300 visitors a month; an impressive number given its scale and its location.

During FMT Lifestyle’s visit, museum volunteer Ahmad Izham explained that while the museum is new, the structure in which it stands is not.

“The building has been around since the 1920s. It was an administrative office for the local British authorities,” he said.

During the Japanese occupation, their troops were housed on the grounds, with their officers utilising the building as their headquarters.

According to Ahmad, there are many explanations as to how the town of Mersing got its name, but only one is truly accepted by local historians.

“Mersing is named after the Mersinga tree, which used to be abundant here, along the shoreline. Whenever the wind blows through its leaves, it makes a certain whistling sound.”

He also mentioned that there is a popular myth about Mersing being named after a certain Amir Singh, allegedly a favourite of the Sultan of Pahang.

The myth states that after losing favour, he fled to Mersing, giving his name to his new place of residence. “However,” said Ahmad, “there’s not much concrete evidence to support this theory.”

The museum is divided into three sections; one focuses on the everyday lives of Mersing’s people, the next is a seasonal gallery and the third is the Battle of Endau exhibition.

For most visitors, the latter is the main draw of the museum, with its collection of Second World War artefacts a tantalising sight for military buffs.

A large information panel tells visitors of the Battle of Endau, fought between the British and the Japanese in the waters close to Mersing.

This was one of the last engagements fought on the peninsular, with the British fully withdrawing to Singapore afterwards.

On the evening of Jan 26, 1942, British aircraft, flying in from Singapore, attacked a Japanese naval convoy on its way to land soldiers on the shore.

Unfortunately for the British, their Japanese opponents suffered few casualties and downed many more British planes instead.

Some of these downed planes crashed into the sea, with their surviving parts recovered decades later by local fishermen.

Outside the museum, the engines and propellers of some recovered aircraft remain on display, with the occasional bullet hole still visible.

In the end, the battle was a decisive defeat for the British, with the Japanese successfully landing their troops and sinking a British warship in the process. Mersing fell on the morning of Jan 27.

The Battle of Endau exhibition features a collection of military equipment which likely saw use back in the day.

Uniforms, firearms, swords and survival tools are just a few things that visitors can gawk at here.

Adjacent to the Second World War exhibition is a little space dedicated to the many shipwrecks in Mersing’s waters, with recovered treasures populating the displays here.

And in the other wing of the museum, are everyday objects of yesteryear, with old-timey typewriters and telephones to admire.

Aspiring archivists might also have an interest in the framed documents here, which give insight into the administrative history of the town.

For such a small town, it is quite amazing just how much history Mersing contains. Who knows what other stories it has yet to tell?

Mersing Museum
243, Jalan Ibrahim
Mersing Kechil
86800 Mersing
Johor

Business hours:
9.30am-4.45pm Saturdays to Wednesdays
9.30am-3pm on Thursdays (closed on Fridays)

Contact: 07-798 0627