Sarawakians might not be familiar with Captain Harry de Windt but his sister should be more familiar. His sister Margaret was the wife of second White Rajah Charles Brooke. Best known as a travel writer and explorer, de Windt at one point did work as the aide-de-camp for his brother in-law when he was only […]
Also known as Lintang Barracks and Kuching POW camp, the Batu Lintang camp was a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War (WWII). Unlike other Japanese internment camps, the Lintang Barracks held both Prisoners of War (POWs) and civilian internees. The camp was originally British Indian Army barracks. The Japanese took it over from […]
If the Tsardom of Russia had their The Winter Palace and the Chinese emperors had their Forbidden City, we Sarawakians have what we call The Astana. Once called Government House, it is now the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak. It was built in 1870 by the second White Rajah Charles Brooke as a […]
Are you a fan of strawberry shortcake? If you are based in Kuching, one of the places you can get a hand on a strawberry shortcake is at The Hash Cafe. Pair it with a cup of hot coffee or black tea and you have the perfect afternoon tea session. However, did you know that […]
Many Sarawakians today might not be familiar with Brooketon but about a century ago, it was a mining settlement that was once under the Sarawak government. What made this settlement special was that it was located in Brunei, not in Sarawak. During the reign of second White Rajah of Sarawak Charles Brooke, Brooketon was considered […]
When the Malayan Peninsula and subsequently Singapore were captured during World War II (WWII), it was considered among the Japanese Army’s greatest wartime achievements. Meanwhile, it was the worst Far Eastern defeats for Great Britain. During WWII, Singapore was British military base in Southeast Asia. Also known as the Fall of Singapore, the battle lasted […]
Borneo in the 21st century is heaven for all adventurers out there. Here you can find a piece of everything, be it a sandy beach or chilly mountain, exotic animals or unique culture; we have it all. Plus, the people of Borneo are known for their friendliness and generally being good hosts. It is a […]
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Victory belongs to the most persevering”. This is not necessarily works every time especially when comes to Japanese holdouts. In Japanese, they called them ‘Zanryu nipponhei’ or the remaining Japanese soldier. They were the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II (WWII) who continued […]
Inspired by James Brooke’s success in founding the kingdom of Sarawak in 1841, another British adventurer James Erskine Murray wanted to establish his own fiefdom too. While Murray might share the same first name and nationality with Brooke, he did not share the same fate with first White Rajah of Sarawak. In his pursue to […]
James Brooke might be widely known as the first ‘White Rajah’ of Sarawak. However, did you know that he was not the first man to be known as the first ‘White Rajah’ in Borneo? About 30 years before Brooke established his dynasty in Sarawak, British merchant and adventurer Alexander Hare founded an independent fiefdom in […]
