Cross Ref: The Story of Sarawak

If you are interested in Sarawak history, do click on the following two new postings on Sheepstor ...

http://story-of-sarawak.blogspot.com/2011/12/memorable-visit-to-sheepstor-part-1.html

and

http://story-of-sarawak.blogspot.com/2011/12/memorable-visit-to-sheepstor-part-2.html

Find out what this little village in the county of Devon, south-western England has to do with Sarawak history.

Scenes from the Sunday Market, Kuching

For those of you who are living away from Sarawak, these are some colourful and heartwarming scenes from the Sunday market at Satok Road, Kuching. Enjoy but be careful ... they may also make you hungry!

Fig 1: Chillies and other hot stuff

Fig 2: Roots and shoots

Fig 3: Reminds me of the "Banana Boat" song ... Day-O ...

Fig 4: Lemang and friends

Fig 5: "Very fresh, very cheap ..."

If you have other nice photos from this fascinating place, send them to me at jslyong@hotmail.com .

The Sarawak River

One of my favourite views of Kuching is that of the Sarawak River. The familiar image of the "teh si" coloured waterway meandering gracefully through downtown Kuching, with the Matang or Santubong mountains in the background, is one that evokes feelings of peace and tranquility (for me at least).

In the old days, boatmen used to row their little "tambangs" to ferry people across the river for as little as 5 cents per passenger. These days, the boats are more often than not motor powered and I'm sure the price is a lot more than 5 cents.

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I can even imagine that much of this broad scenery (apart from that DUN monstrosity) remaining relatively unchanged since the day when the adventurer James Brooke sailed down the river in "The Royalist".back in 1839, about 170 years ago ...

Just look at this painting from the early 1800s ...

Fig 4

I also like the look of Fort Margherita, nestled among the foliage. This fort was built in 1879 by the Second White Rajah, Sir Charles Brooke, and named after his wife, the Ranee Margaret. It was supposed to protect Kuching from marauding pirates and other enemies. Fort Margherita is also where during my childhood n the sixties, the 8 o'clock cannon was fired every night without fail.

Fig 5

Added later

I also took a tambang trip across to the kampong side of the Sarawak River. Here are some more photos ...

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Well, enjoy the pictures. I'll add a few more once I get them.

Whether you are living in Kuching or staying overseas, do share your recollections of the sights and sounds of this lovely place.

History Textbook from Primary School

Recently one of our schoolmates, ELAS, mentioned this textbook in a Facebook discussion. I remember it well and wish I had preserved mine for posterity ... especially since I'm quite sure my old textbook was a First Edition (the one shown below is the Second Edition).

A lesson to schoolchildren today ... don't be too hasty to throw away your old textbooks after exams are over. They might be valuable one day.

But have you ever wondered who was Vernon Mullen, whose name we were familiar with for a number of years during our youth? Well, I did some investigation. Apparently he was a Canadian educator who did some teaching of English in different parts of the world, including Sudan, Ethiopia, Sarawak and China. Mullen was in Sarawak from 1957-1963 and again from 1965-1968. Apart from the familiar history book above, he also published his memoirs "Them Lions Will Eat Them Up: Teaching English Around the World" (Voyageur Pub, 1999). I'm still looking for a copy for my collection so if anyone has any ideas where I can find one ...

Historical Diversion: New book in my Collection

Do any of you remember this history book? "The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946" by Sir Steven Runciman was first published in 1960 by Cambridge University Press. It was never a standard textbook if I remember correctly, but it remains a very useful reference.

Anyway I found this copy in Select Books at Tanglin Shopping Centre, Singapore yesterday.

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Well, at least for this Hari Raya holiday, you know what I'll be reading ...

Places in Sarawak named after the Brookes

In an earlier posting, we discussed the (few) places in Sarawak named after the Brookes. I invited readers to send me the names or photos of places that they knew ...

From Leo Sia

Here are two: Brooke Inn and Jalan Brooke. I will let Leo make further comments on them ...

Pic 1

Pic 2

Leo also pointed out a living creature named after James Brooke. It is a butterfly, the Rajah Brooke Birdwing (or Trogonoptera brookiana albescens) ...

Pic 3

From JY

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From Nick Chin

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Nick sent on these 2 new photos (taken by his friend in Sibu) ...

Pic 6c

Pic 6d

More from Leo Sia

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Okay .... now our collection is getting bigger ....

Another one from Leo today (22 Sept) ... Rh. James Brooke is 35km outside Bintulu, I believe.

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Fig 8c

More contributions from others?

Some Books on Sarawak History

Here's a small selection of the books on Sarawak history that I have collected.

Pic 1

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I've got a couple more books layng around which I might take another photo of and post later.

The Adventures of Young James Brooke (Part 2)

I recently ordered (from an antique books store in Australia) a book that included the letters of Rajah James Brooke to his lady friend Miss (later Baroness) Angela Burdett-Coutts. It chronicles the most interesting relationship between Rajah Brooke with this lady, who actually gave significant sums of her own money in support of Rajah Brooke's cause in Sarawak. One would think we should have at least a road in Kuching named after her.

This book will obviously take pride of place in my Sarawak history book collection. In this posting, let me share some photos with you ...

Note the book sitting on my traditional native tablecloth

A close up of the book spine

Title pages of the book

One of the Contents pages

Part of the Introduction chapter

A part of the history e never learnt in school ... which explains much about

why Rajah James Brooke never got married

Hope you enjoyed reading about this little piece of our Sarawak history ...

"Remembering Anthony" Expo at Pustaka Negeri

This interesting item came out in Borneo Post yesterday.

Any of you guys and gals who are interested in Sarawak history, especially the Brooke era, should try to visit this Expo about the last Raja Muda of Sarawak, Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke when it opens .

Anthony Brooke passed away on 2nd March 2011 at the age of 98. Click HERE for more details in one of my previous postings.

The Expo opens on 8th June and continues till the end of the month. I for one will try my best to be there.

Added on 9th June 2011

This came out in the Borneo Post today (thanks Leo!). I still don't know if any of our brothers attended ....

A historic occasion

section 1 of 3 of clipping

section 2 of 3

section 3 of 3

From "The Sarawak Tribune" (9 June 2011)

In Memory of Anthony Brooke

by Elmer Yeo

KUCHING: The passing of Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke, who was the Raja Muda (heir apparent to the throne of the White Rajah) before Sarawak was ceded to the British, marked another important chapter in the history of Sarawak.

Brooke, who was 98 years old when he passed away in New Zealand on 2 March, 2011 is survived by his wife Gita Keiller, son James Bertram Lionel Brooke and a daughter Celia Margaret Brooke.

An exhibition in his memory, highlighting his ties and links with Sarawak, is being held at the State Library in Petra Jaya here 8 to 30 June.

The Chairman of the State Library Board of Management, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Hamid Bugo, officiated at the launching of the exhibition by James Bertram Lionel Brooke, yesterday.

In his short speech, James Brooke described his father as a man of integrity and strong will.

He said he regretted not having the opportunity to get close with his father who was a travelling man and was constantly away.

He said the family had to leave Sarawak hastily in 1941 due to the impending Japanese conquest of South-East Asia, and their return to the UK where they were relocated at Liverpool.

James also spoke briefly about the decision of the Third Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke to cede Sarawak to the British government in 1946 in return for a pension, thus ending the rule of the White Rajah.

Meanwhile, the small but informative exhibition showcases Anthony Brooke’s life from his early years to the period when he was appointed the Raja Muda, and his opposition to the cessation of Sarawak to the British.

Anthony’ Brooke’s anti-cessation campaign ended in 1951 when the spread of communism became a greater threat to the stability of Sarawak.

When the anti-cessation movement came to an end, Anthony Brooke devoted his time to promote peace, unity and the protection of the environment and the indigenous people.

He divorced his first wife, Kathleen Hudden in 1965 and remarried in 1982.He and his second wife Gita Keiller visited Sarawak in 1983 to participate in the 20th anniversary celebration of the formation of Malaysia.

Anthony Brooke’s month-long stay in Sarawak (from 18 Aug to 18 Sept) in 1983 gave him the opportunity to meet with old friends, former co-workers and government officials, being invited as guest of honour at numerous functions and excursions to other parts Sarawak.

In his later years, he settled down at Wanganui in the north island of New Zealand, and to keep alive the fond memories of Sarawak, he even had a special memorabilia room called the Sarawak Room’ in his house.

The exhibition reveals that Anthony Brooke, towards the end of his life, forgave family members “who had conspired to deprive him of his singular inheritance”.

Besides the pictorials and written stories, there was also a small collection of government documents that were related to the anti-cessation period.

Al so present at the ceremony were the State Library’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Japri Bujang Masli and Anthony Brooke’s grandson, Jason Brooke.

“By the act of your ancestors and mine, and by the accident of birth, I was born to be your servant – a relationship formally recognised by the British Government in its treaties with Sarawak and my family.

That relationship was impugned but not changed by my uncle’s cessation of Sarawak, and its annexation by the British Government.

In good or ill, so long as you wish to maintain that relationship, I shall continue with gratitude, affection and pride to regard myself as your servant” – Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke.

(end)