The Astana | |
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Front view of the building from Kuching Waterfront | |
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General information | |
Status | Completed |
Type | Official residence |
Location | Kuching, Sarawak |
Country | ![]() |
Coordinates | 1°33′49″N110°20′44″E / 1.56361°N 110.34556°E |
Current tenants | Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak |
Construction started | 1870 |
Completed | 1888 |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 1 |
Lifts/elevators | None |
The Astana (Malay: Astana Sarawak) is a palace in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, on the north bank of the Sarawak River, opposite the Kuching Waterfront. It is the official residence of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak (Governor of Sarawak). The name is a variation of 'istana', meaning 'palace'. [1] It was built in 1870 by the second White Rajah, Charles Brooke, as a wedding gift to his wife, Margaret Alice Lili de Windt. [2] [3] The palace is not normally open to the public, although the landscaped gardens are, which can be reached by a boat ride across the Sarawak River. It is part of the Kuching Heritage Trail. [4]
The Astana, then called Government House, was built in 1870 by the second White Rajah, Charles Brooke, as a wedding gift to his wife, Margaret Alice Lili de Windt. [1] [2] [4] The couple married at Highworth, Wiltshire on 28 October 1869 and she was raised to the title of Ranee of Sarawak with the style of Her Highness upon their marriage. Ranee Margaret arrived in Sarawak in 1870, and the royal couple then occupied The Astana as their main home. She later reminisced about life in The Astana and colonial Borneo in her memoir My Life in Sarawak, which was published in 1913. [5] Brooke is said to have cultivated betel nut in a small plantation behind The Astana, so that he could offer fresh betel nut to visiting Dayak chiefs. [6]
The residence was originally three separate buildings, with each connected to the other by short and narrow passageways. The Astana has since undergone major renovations and alterations befitting it as the official residence of the governor of Sarawak. [2] [3]
Kuching, officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of Sarawak on the island of Borneo and covers an area of 431 km2 (166 sq mi) with a population about 165,642 in the Kuching North administrative region and 159,490 in the Kuching South administrative region—a total of 325,132 people.
Sir Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, GCMG, born Charles Anthoni Johnson, ruled as the head of state of Raj of Sarawak from 3 August 1868 until his death. He succeeded his uncle, James Brooke, as the second White Rajah.
Sir Vyner Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, GCMG, full name Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke was the third and last White Rajah of the Raj of Sarawak.
Simanggang is a town and the capital of Sri Aman District and Sri Aman Division in Sarawak, east Malaysia. Located on the Lupar River, it is 193 kilometres (120 mi), a three-hour drive, from Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. It is a trade center for the timber, oil palm, rubber, and pepper of its mostly agricultural district.
Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, which are broadly similar in language and culture. The name Bidayuh means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the collective name Land Dayak was first used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. At times, they were also lesser referred to as Klemantan people. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and West Kalimantan and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Serian in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, while in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan they are mainly concentrated in the northern Sanggau Regency. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population can be found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the Kuching and Serian Division. They are the second-largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the Iban and one of the major Dayak tribes in West Kalimantan.
The White Rajahs were a hereditary monarchy of the Brooke family, who founded and ruled the Raj of Sarawak as a sovereign state, located on the north west coast of the island of Borneo in Maritime Southeast Asia, from 1841 to 1946. Of British origin, the first ruler, James Brooke was granted the province of Kuching – which was known as Sarawak Asal – by the Sultanate of Brunei for helping fight piracy and insurgency among the indigenous peoples in 1841 and received independent kingdom status.
The flag of Sarawak, officially known as Ibu Pertiwi, is the official flag of Sarawak, a state in Malaysia. It is based on the flag of the Raj of Sarawak of the White Rajah, and includes the yellow of Southeast Asian royalty — a similar yellow and diagonal black are in the flag of Brunei, although Brunei's yellow is of a brighter shade.
The Raj of Sarawak, Kingdom of Sarawak or State of Sarawak, was an independent state founded in 1841 in northwestern Borneo and was in a treaty of protection with the United Kingdom from 1888. It was established from a series of land concessions acquired by the Englishman James Brooke, from the Sultan of Brunei. Sarawak was recognised as a sovereign state by the United States in 1850 and by the United Kingdom in 1864. The Kingdom is now the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke was appointed the Rajah Muda of Sarawak on 25 August 1937, by his uncle, Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Vyner Brooke, the third and last ruling White Rajah.
Sylvia Leonora, Lady Brooke, Ranee of Sarawak, was an English aristocrat who became the consort to Sir Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, the last of the White Rajahs.
The History of Sarawak can be traced as far as 40,000 years ago to the paleolithic period where the earliest evidence of human settlement is found in the Niah caves. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from the 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the archeological site of Santubong. The coastal regions of Sarawak came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 16th century. In 1839, James Brooke, a British explorer, first arrived in Sarawak. Sarawak was later governed by the Brooke family between 1841 and 1946. During World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese for three years. After the war, the last White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, ceded Sarawak to Britain, and in 1946 it became a British Crown Colony. On 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted self-government by the British. Following this, it became one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia, established on 16 September 1963. However, the federation was opposed by Indonesia, and this led to the three-year Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. From 1960 to 1990, Sarawak experienced a communist insurgency.
Margaret, Lady Brooke, Ranee of Sarawak was the ranee of the second White Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke. She published her memoir, My Life in Sarawak, in 1913. The memoir offers a rare glimpse of life in The Astana in Kuching and colonial Borneo. The Ranee became legendary during her lifetime as a woman of strength and intelligence, as well as on account of her status, which she shared with the other White Rajahs, of being at once a British subject and an Asian monarch.
Fort Margherita is an old fort constructed in 1879 by Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, situated in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The fort is an important landmark and monument in Sarawak's history which goes back to the Brooke dynasty. The fort, built in the style of an English castle, was designed to protect Kuching from being attacked by pirates. It served as a Police Museum from 1971 before being handed over to the Government of Sarawak and now is a tourist attraction in Kuching. The fort now houses the Brooke Gallery, an exhibition showcasing the history of Sarawak under the Brooke dynasty.
The Crown Colony of Sarawak was a British Crown colony on the island of Borneo, established in 1946, shortly after the dissolution of the British Military Administration. It was succeeded as the state of Sarawak through the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963.
Wee Kheng Chiang was a Malaysian Chinese businessman of Quemoy Bân-lâm Hoklo ancestry who founded the United Chinese Bank and Bian Chiang Bank. He was the father of Wee Cho Yaw, Chairman Emeritus & Adviser of the United Overseas Bank.
Jason Desmond Anthony Brooke FRAS is the grandson of the last Rajah Muda of Sarawak, Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke, and a prominent representative of the Brooke dynasty in Sarawak.
The Fort Alice is a fort in Sri Aman, Sarawak, Malaysia.
The Kuching Old Courthouse is a historical courthouse in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Hong San Si Temple is a Chinese temple situated in Carpenter Street of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is part of the Kuching Heritage Trail.
Media related to The Astana, Sarawak at Wikimedia Commons