Bau | |
|---|---|
Town and district capital | |
 Bau Market | |
 Seal | |
  Bau  Bau | |
| Coordinates: 1°25′0″N110°0′9″E / 1.41667°N 110.00250°E | |
| Country |  Malaysia |
| State |  Sarawak |
| Division | Kuching |
| District | Bau |
| Area | |
| • Total | 884.4 km2 (341.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 62,200 |
| • Density | 70/km2 (180/sq mi) |
Bau is a gold mining town, [1] capital of Bau district in the Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. [2]
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. [3]
The Chinese first began gold mining in Bau in the 1800s, centred at Pangkalan Tebang. [4] In 1850, more Chinese came from Pemangkat in Dutch Borneo to escape from inter Chinese Kongsi rivalry there. The friction of the jurisdiction and taxation of Chinese Kongsi with the Brooke government and the $150 fine for smuggling opium imposed by the Brookes led to the Bau uprising on 19 February 1857. About 600 gold miners, led by Liu Shan Bang, took over Kuching town, the administrative centre of the Brooke government. [5] [6] Amongst those who were killed during the uprising were police inspector P. Middleton and his family, R. Wellington, an employee of Borneo Company Limited (BCL), 19-year-old Harry Nicholettes, the Lundu Resident, and a Malay Corporal. [5] The Sarawak Treasury was ransacked, including $6,359 belonging The Borneo Company. The gold miners called a meeting that involved Bishop, Ludvig Verner Helms (manager of BCL), Ruppell (a private merchant trading with BCL), and the Datu Bandar. Agreements were signed so that "Mr Helms and Mr Ruppell were to rule the foreign portion of the town [Kuching], and the Datu Bandar the Malays, under the [gold miners’] Kongsi as supreme rulers.” and “the Chinese should go up the river the same day … the Malays should not attack them … no steamers or boats should be sent up the river in pursuit.” On 23 February, BCL steamship named Sir James Brooke returned from Singapore. James Brooke, Helms, and others boarded the steamship. Flanked by a flotilla of small boats, the steamship sailed upriver in pursuit of the retreating Chinese gold miners. James Brooke retook the town of Kuching on the same day. [5] Building upon the victory, Tuan Muda Charles Brooke led several hundreds of Dayaks from Skrang and Saribas in pursuit of the 2,000 Chinese gold miners that retreated to Sambas, Dutch Borneo. On the order of James Brooke, Helms went to Dutch Borneo to seek cooperation to exterminate the remaining Chinese gold miners. The Dutch authorities agreed and by 15 March 1857, peace was restored and Helms returned to Sarawak on a Dutch warship. [5]
After the uprising was quashed by the Brookes, the mining operations were gradually taken over by The Borneo Company with the last Chinese syndicate being bought out in 1884. [4] In 1898, The Borneo Company introduced the cyanide process for extracting the gold, [4] which led to increased environmental pollution. The mines were closed in 1921 because most of the minerals, easily reachable by existing techniques, had been removed. [7] But during the Great Depression Chinese miners continued to artisanally mine the deposits. [8] The mines were reopened in the late 1970s when world gold prices soared, but were closed down again in 1996 when the Asian financial crisis started. [9] The last mining occurred at the Tai Parit open-pit mine. [10]
In 2002, Preston Resources began exploratory development of the mining leases formerly held by Malaysia's Oriental Peninsula Gold (now Peninsula Gold Ltd.). [1] In 2006, Zedex Minerals purchased a controlling interest in the exploratory leases. [11] Zedex was primarily concerned with determining the extent and richness of the remaining Jugan gold deposits, but it also assayed the old tailings at the Bukit Young Gold Mine site for potential reprocessing. [12] In 2009 Zedex was merged into Olympus Pacific Minerals. [13] As of 2014, the mining rights were held by North Borneo Gold, a joint venture of Besra Gold (aka Olympus Pacific Minerals), Golden Celesta and Gladioli Enterprises, a Malaysian mining group. [14] As of May 2017 [update] , the mines have not reopened.
The gold deposits in Bau Township occur in the Jugan Hills in marine sedimentary rocks of late Jurassic to early Cretaceous age, primarily limestone. [12] [15] The gold comes from hydrothermal sources activated by local volcanism. [15] The gold is found in four distinct configurations: disseminated throughout the mineralized sediments; as silica replacement; in breccias having magno-calcite quartz veining; and occasionally as porphyritic skarns. [14] [16]
The limestone cliffs in the area support a wide range of endemic flora, including the rare pitcher plant Nepenthes northiana . [17]
| Route No. | Operating Route | Operator | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Kuching-Bau | Bau Transport Co | |
| B2 | Kuching-Bau | CPL | |
| K26 | Kuching-Bau-Lundu-Sematan | CPL | |
In 2022, Roxy Tasik Biru Resort was opened to the public. It is equipped with a floating bridge, fountain, chalets, a café, and a boat ride service. [18] Fairy Cave and Wind Cave are located in the Bau District. [19]
Capital: Kuching | |
| History | |
| Topics | |
| Society |
|
| Administrative divisions | |
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.
Serian is a town, and the capital of the Serian separated on 11 April 2015 from Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located about 40 miles (64 km) from Kuching. Sub-district headquarters towns are Balai Ringin and Tebedu.
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.
Lawas is a small town and the capital of Lawas District, Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. This district area is 3,811.90 square kilometres, and population was 46,200. It is 1,200 km from the state capital, Kuching and 200 km from the capital city of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu.
Tatau is a town, and the capital of the Tatau District in Bintulu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The district's reported total population for Tatau was 30,383. Tatau became a district in 1987. Before that it was a Sub District under Bintulu District. The main spoken languages are Iban, Kenyah, Beketan and Punan.
Betong Division, formed on 26 March 2002, is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. Formerly part of Sri Aman Division, Betong is in the Saribas area. It has a total area of 4,180.8 square kilometres, and is the smallest of the administrative divisions of Sarawak.
Betong is a town in Betong Division in Sarawak, Malaysia, lying in the Saribas area. It was formerly under the Sri Aman district. Betong is located between three main rivers, Batang Lupar, Batang Saribas and Batang Kelaka, and covers an area of 4,180 km2.
The Meradong District is located in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The capital of Meradong District is Bintangor, Sarawak. The official census in 2006 stated Meradong as covering 719 sq km, making it the smallest district of Sarawak in terms of geographic area, and the district population from the 2010 National Census was 28,672. It is situated nearby Sarikei District.
Lundu is a town and the capital of Lundu District located in the northwest of Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia, and borders the Indonesian Province of West Kalimantan.
Chong Chieng Jen, is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as Chairman of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) since February 2024, State Leader of the Opposition of Sarawak from June 2013 to November 2020 and again since March 2024, Member of Parliament (MP) for Stampin since May 2018 and Member of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Padungan since December 2021. He served as the Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020, MP for Bandar Kuching from March 2004 to May 2018 and MLA for Kota Sentosa from May 2006 to December 2021. He is a member, National Vice Chairman, State Chairman of Sarawak, Branch Chairman of Kuching and State Youth Advisor of Sarawak as well as Bandar Kuching of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the PH and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Alternatif (BA) coalitions.
The Daro District is a district in Mukah Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The district contains the eponymous town of Daro. The nearest town to Daro is Matu. Daro is administered under the Majlis Daerah Matu-Daro, which is also the local authority for Matu District. The population in Daro was 37,900 in 2020, with Melanau making up the majority. There were ferries from Sibu to here, taking around two hours by using the channel of Rejang River.
Padawan is a sub-district of Kuching District, Sarawak, Malaysia. The name is also used to refer to the local government in Sarawak, the Padawan Municipal Council, and to Bidayuh Village, which is also known as Kampung Padawan. The Jalan Padawan is the name of a road near mile 23 of Kuching-Serian Highway.
Borneo Company Limited, formed in 1856, was one of the oldest companies based in East Malaysia.
Ludvig Verner Helms was an adventurer, merchant, emissary, and author associated with South-east Asia, especially the Borneo Company in Sarawak. As a manager for the Borneo Company for twenty years, he developed and expanded trade for Sarawak in the country's infancy. He traveled extensively and encountered several notable personalities including Mads Lange, the kings of Cambodia and Siam, the White Rajahs of Sarawak, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Brigham Young. Helms wrote and illustrated an account of his adventures in 1882 titled Pioneering in the Far East and Journeys to California in 1849 and to the White Sea in 1878, providing firsthand accounts of Bali, California, Cambodia, Thailand, Sarawak, Japan, the White Sea, and their leaders during periods of significant historical interest.
Sarawak's population is very diverse, comprising many races and ethnic groups. Sarawak has more than 40 sub-ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language, culture and lifestyle. This makes Sarawak demography very distinct and unique compared to its Peninsular counterpart. However, it largely mirrors to other territories in Borneo - Sabah, Brunei and Kalimantan.
Liu Shan Bang was a Chinese gold miner in Bau, Sarawak. He was best known as the leader of the 1857 Chinese Uprising against the White Rajah James Brooke.
Greater Kuching refers to the urbanised areas surrounding the metropolitan city of Kuching in Malaysia. Kuching is the capital of the state of Sarawak and is the largest city in the state. The area comprising a total area of 2030.94 square kilometres.
The Santiaogou Republic, sometimes spelled as Santiago Republic in some sources, later renamed as the Sanda futing, and lastly as the Hexian zhengting, was a powerful Chinese kongsi federation formerly associated with Monterado district before moving to Sepang in West Kalimantan, Borneo. It joined the Heshun Confederation in 1776, but left due to disputes and allied with the sultan of Sambas, succeeding in destroying its former ally Heshun and the Dagang kongsi. It was one of several miners' confederations in Borneo that later came into conflict with the Dutch to maintain their form of government, described as democratic.
Datu Patinggi Abang Ali bin Abang Amir or commonly known as Datu Patinggi Ali, was a key figure in the Sarawak Malays' resistance to the Brunei Empire, which they waged throughout Pengiran Indera Mahkota and Raja Muda Hashim's reign in the 1830s. He became one of the first supporters of the Brooke Raj and hailed as Sarawak's first national hero. An important part in the 1830s uprising against Bruneian authority was played by him. In an endeavor to oppose Brunei's attempts to subjugate Sarawak through local leaders, he is known to be a fearless and resolute leader. Brooke then took Ali as an aide-de-camp after the Sarawak dispute ended.
