BUTTERWORTH

town, on the northwest coast of West Malaysia (Malaya). It lies along the Perai River estuary and faces the port of George Town on Penang Island, which lies 2 miles (3 km) east across the Penang strait. Butterworth is a railhead and transshipment point for exports of the Malay Peninsula and is linked by ferry to George Town and by road to the main towns of the peninsula. It is the hub of a rubber plantation area and has oil-import facilities, a modern tin smelter and steel plant, and the Mak Mandin industrial estate. Directly south across the muddy Perai estuary is Perai, which has a passenger and goods ferry to George Town. The town was named for William T. Butterworth, governor of Singapore and Malacca (184355). Pop. (1980) 77,982. town, Eastern province, South Africa. It lies north of East London. One of the oldest white settlements in the Transkei region, it grew from a Wesleyan mission station founded in 1827. The settlement was named after Joseph Butterworth, a treasurer of the Wesleyan Mission Society, and acquired town status in 1904. Butterworth now has major industrial sites, including Zitulele and Ibeka, on its outskirts. Its industries produce processed food, beverages, tobacco products, textiles, wearing apparel, leather goods, wood and wood products, chemicals, and rubber and plastic products. It is on the Umtata-East London railway line, and its nearest port is East London. The Butterworth River Cascades with a total drop of 279 feet (85 m) and the Bawa Falls with a sheer drop of 361 feet (110 m) are located nearby. The town is a point of departure for the popular seaside resorts of Mazeppa Bay and Qolora on the Wild Coast (Indian Ocean) to the east. Pop. (1978 est.) mun., 28,514.