Bau, Sarawak

Bau is a gold mining town in the Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. Smuggling with Kalimantan is also important to the local economy.

History

On 1 May 1837, the Skrang Ibans invaded the Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh settlement on top of Bratak Peak, killing over 2,000 Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh men and taking 1,000 women captive. Panglima Kulow, head of Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh community, and a handful of his followers survived the massacre. In 1841 James Brooke, who was then the newly installed White Rajah of Sarawak, was able to rescue some of the women taken captive. Each year on 1 May, descendants of the survivors of the 1837 massacre hold Jagoi-Bratak Day on top of Bratak Peak in Bau in memory of their ancestors. A memorial stone was erected on 1 May 1988, to mark the day.

Gold mining

Gold began being mined in Bau in the 1840s. It was discovered by Chinese miners from Pangkalan Tebang. After the Chinese uprising in 1857, the mining operations were gradually taken over by The Borneo Company with the last Chinese syndicate being bought out in 1884. In 1898, The Borneo Company introduced the cyanide process for extracting the gold, which led to increased environmental pollution. The mines were closed in 1921 because most of the easily reachable minerals had been removed. But during the Great Depression Chinese miners continued to work the mines. The mines were reopened in the late 1970s when world gold prices soared, but closed again in 1997 when the Asian financial crisis started. However, by 2002, Preston Resources began developing the mining operations formerly held by Malaysia's Oriental Peninsula Gold. In 2006, Zedex Minerals purchased the controlling interest.

Sarawak

Sarawak (Malay pronunciation: [saˈrawaʔ]) is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. It is also one of the founding members of the Malaysian federation alongside North Borneo (now Sabah), Singapore (expelled in 1965) and the Federation of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia). This territory has a certain level of autonomy in administration, immigration, and judiciary which differentiates it from the rest of the Malaysian Peninsula states. It is also known as Bumi Kenyalang ("Land of the Hornbills").

Sarawak is situated on the northwest Borneo, bordering the state of Sabah to the northeast, Kalimantan Borneo to the south, and surrounding the independent state of Brunei. Capital city is Kuching. The city is also the economic centre of state and seat of Sarawak state government. Other cities and towns are Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. As of the last census (2015), the state population was 2,636,000. Sarawak has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. The state has several prominent cave systems at Gunung Mulu National Park. Rajang River is the longest river in Malaysia. Bakun Dam, one of the largest dams in Southeast Asia is located at one of the tributaries of the Rajang River. Mount Murud is the highest point in Sarawak.

Crown Colony of Sarawak

The Crown Colony of Sarawak was a British Crown colony established in 1946 shortly after the dissolution of British Military Administration.

Administration

The Governor of British Crown Colony of Sarawak (Malay: Tuan Yang Terutama Gabenor Koloni Mahkota British Sarawak) was the position created by the British Government upon the cession of Sarawak from the Brooke Administration in 1946. The appointment was made by King George VI, and later Queen Elizabeth II until the self-government of Sarawak on 22 July 1963 and the forming of the Federation of Malaysia on 1963. After the formation of Malaysia, the title was changed to 'Tuan Yang Terutama Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak', which also means 'His Excellency The Governor of Sarawak', or 'His Excellency The Head of State of Sarawak' and the appointment was later made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or King of Malaysia.

The official residence of the Governor of Sarawak at that time was The Astana, located at the North bank of the Sarawak River.