Tawau — The Making of A Tropical Community

Price RM150.00

DescriptionThe story of Tawau and its people is only around 130 years old. People alive today, including this author, have known those who were present at the very start of a recognisable settlement at the mouth of the Tawau River. Ken Goodlet’s interviews cover around 21 linguistic groups in those early days, making this record of Tawau rainbow-coloured in its diversity.

The book shows that Tawau has had at least two natural advantages: its location and its natural wealth. Situated at the meeting point of three states that were formerly very different (and competing) colonies, Tawau has been a haven of prosperity and peace, first under the British and then as part of Malaysia. This has attracted trade and immigration (and, at times, envy) not only from far distant Japan and China, but from the Dutch East Indies (later, Indonesia) to its immediate south and from the Spanish and American and, later, independent Philippines to its east.

Tawau’s natural wealth, evidenced in a favourable climate, large pockets of excellent soil and coal deposits, has provided residents with jungle produce, then mining and timber, then rubber and hemp and cocoa, and finally oil palm prosperity, augmented by a host of less important agricultural products. The book shows how this has led to extensive migration and capital investment and to the growth of a diverse agriculture-based economy with a complex infrastructure.

While previously unimagined wealth has brought better health and a higher standard of living, inevitably it has brought problems unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, illegal immigration, wealth inequity and loss of some community values. But the final chapters make clear the present is a better world for most than it was at any time in the past.
Table of Contents

    Preface vi
    Introduction: A Long-hidden Treasure Trove 1
    1. The Beginnings of Tawau 1857-1891 7
    2. From Kampong to Town 1891-1905 19
    3. The Promise of Coal and Rubber 1905-1917 35
    4. Dreams and Disappointments 1917-1931 51
    5. A Japanese-led Recovery 1931-1942 81
    6. Japanese Occupation and After 1942-1946 101
    7. Recovery and Progress 1946-1960 127
    8. From Colony to Federation 1960-1967 159
    9. The Promise of Increased Prosperity 1967-1976 195
    10. The Golden Age 1976-1985 231
    11. An Oil Palm-based Economy 1986-2008 257
    Appendix 1: Tawau Chronology 305
    Appendix 2: Oral Sources 315
    Appendix 3: Government Officials in Tawau 320
    Appendix 4: The Geology of Tawau 327
    Bibliography 329
    Index 337

Product details
Published in 2010 / 370 pages / Language: English / 1000g / 6.4 x 8.7 x 1.25 inches / ISBN: 978-983-3987-38-2

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Silimpopon A Borneo Coal Mine

Price RM150.00

Description
In the early 20th century, the Silimpopon Coal Mine—the only such mine in Sabah (then known as North Borneo)—operated for more than 25 years in a remote location a few miles upriver from Tawau. Owned by the London-based Cowie Harbour Coal Company, the mine was staffed with European managers and engineers. While some locals were also employed, the majority of the mine labourers were Chinese coolies imported directly from China.

At its height the mine housed a community of more than 3000, greater than the population of Tawau at that time. It was a self-contained community, with its own shops, hospital and police as well as the necessary workshops. A railway with Andrew Barclay locomotives provided the only means of transport to the Silimpopon River—for both coal and people.

This book provides a detailed look at the Silimpopon Coal Mine. It not only includes many technical details (and illustrations) of its workings and accounts of the numerous technical reports commissioned (and often ignored). The financial (mis)fortunes of the mine are also closely followed.

Readers more interested in social history than coal mining will be fascinated by the extraordinary collection of historical photographs which illustrate accounts of mine life—from the very primitive underground working conditions to the social life of the mine managers and their wives.

Table of Contents

    Foreword vii
    Preface viii
    Introduction and Historical Background 1
    The Exploration for Coal 5
    R.W. Clarke and the Opening of the Mine at Silimpopon: 1904—1907 11
    The Development of the Mine: 1908—1907 23
    The Colliery in 1914: The First Ten Years 35
    The Effect of the War 59
    The Best Years: 1917—1923 67
    The 1922 Photographs 87
    The Declining Years: 1923—1931 125
    The Forster, Brown & Rees Report 135
    The “Sandakan Dream”: Prospecting for Coal in Sandakan 147
    The Cunningham Reports on Silimpopon 151
    The Final Years 163
    The Real Problems at Silimpopon 171
    Epilogue 189
    Bibliography 193
    Index 195

Product details
S128Published in 2007 / 210 pages / Language: English / 1100g / 7.6 x 10.3 x 0.9 inches / ISBN: 978-983-3987-00-9

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Under The Borneo Sun - A Tawau Story

Price RM49.00

Description
This is an account of an ordinary man’s life set against extraordinary times before, during and after the Second World War in British North Borneo (now Sabah). It charts the history of Tawau and the hard struggle of the author’s family enmeshed with events leading to the birth of a nation as seen through the eyes of a son of poor Chinese immigrants.

It gives many interesting insights as to how the locals and imperialists (both British and Japanese) interacted in this era. This is also a personal story of hardship, deprivation and heartbreak endured stoically by the family. It depicts the author’s life journey, made richer by the many friends and acts of kindness he encountered. Essentially, this is a story of survival against overwhelming odds in the face of man’s cruelty against one another.

However, it also brings out happy memories of inherent human decency and care amply demonstrated by numerous individuals, among whom were common fellow citizens, British colonial officials, religious missionaries and even Japanese soldiers of war. In writing this story, the author’s aim is to leave a legacy to his English, American and Japanese grandchildren so that they will remember this part of their shared heritage.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii
Preface viii
Acknowledgements ix

1. Early Tawau 1
2. Family Roots 3
3. Pre-war Economic Activities in Tawau 11
4. Pre-war Social Structure and British-Japanese Relations 21
5. Japanese Occupation and the Post-war Years 31
6. Cowie Harbour and the Ships 47
7. Schooldays 57
8. Joining the Customs Service, 1959 71
9. Service in Bakapit and Lahad Datu, 1959—61 77
10. Service in Kota Kinabalu and Kudat, 1961—66 91
11. Service in Sabah and Penang, 1966—92 101
12. Into Retirement 115

Product details
U001Published in 2005 / 126 pages / Language: English / 500g / 6.2 x 8.85 x 0.6 inches / ISBN: 983-812-108-8

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