SARAWAK-BRITISH NORTH BORNEO
ST. THOMAS' SCHOOL-Kuching
Headmaster- A. N. Ellis
Warden
The Rt. Rev.
E. L.
Danson
"THE CLUB," Miri
Sub-Warden-The Ven R. J. Small
Chaplain-The Rev. F. S. Hollis
Hon. Sec.-B. Bromfield
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO
1393
This territory, formerly known as Sabah, situated at the northern end of the island of Borneo, has a coast line of about 500 miles. The population is made up of Malays, Bajaus, Dusuns, Sulus, Filipinos, and numbers 220,000, which includes about 30,000 Chinese. The chief geographical feature in the territory is the mountain of Kina Balu, about 13,700 feet high. The principal river on the West coast is the Padas; but the country possesses many considerable and valuable rivers. On the East there are the Kinabatangan, Labuk, Sugut, Segama, and many others The best harbours are those of Jesselton on the West Coast, Kudat on the North, and Sandakan on the East.
The climate is particularly pleasant for the tropics; the days are rarely very hot, while a blanket is often required at night; and very little inconvenience is experienced from insect pests, such as mosquitoes and the like. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disturbances are unknown. The seas are teeming with fish, and the export trade in dried and salted fish is increasing. Trade with Singapore, Hongkong and the Philippines is well established. A weekly steamship service is maintained between North Borneo ports and Singapore, by the Straits Steamship Company, and steamers run regularly to Hongkong and the Philippines. A local fortnightly service is maintained by the Sabah Steainship Company, and a monthly service by the Osaka Shosen Kaisha from Formosa, the ports of call being Amoy, Swatow, Hongkong, Tawao, Sandakan, Batavia, Semarang, and Macassar. The steamers of the Australian Oriental line also call at Sandakan en route for Melbourne. The majority of the trade supplies are obtained from and through Singapore, and with Hongkong a regular timber business has been established. Amongst the zoological productions of North Borneo are to be noted elephants, rhinoceros, deer of three kinds, wild cattle, pigs, bears, and pythons. Of game birds there are a few-argus, fireback, and bulwer pheasants, wild duck, many varieties of wild pigeon and doves, snipe, and quail.
Sandakan, the capital, has a magnificent harbour and is the chief place of trade. Jesselton, however, on the West Coast, is now rapidly developing, and, owing to its position, should become, in the near future, the chief port in the territory. It is also one of the termini of the State Railway. The imports include cloth, rice, hardware, manu- factured goods of all kinds, opium, Chinese tobacco, Chinese coarse crockery, matches, biscuits, oil, sugar, etc. The chief exports are rubber, tobacco, copra, timber, cutch coal, native tobacco and rattans, gutta-percha, birds'-nests, seed pearls, bêche de mer, sharks' fins, camphor, tortoise-sliell, beeswax, and other natural products, which are brought in from the interior, the neighbouring Sulu Archipelago, etc.
Coal is being worked in the S.E. of the territory. The Cowie Harbour Coal Mines at Silimpopon have extracted over 585,000 tons of coal since 1907. The coal is transported from the Colliery to the shipping port Sebattik and to Sandakan by means of lighters, which have been built in Borneo. The Collieries have recently undergone a change in the plans for development, and the demand for supplies of coal is at present in excess of the mines output. The output during 1918 amounted to 72,168 tons, and sales amounted to 69,8 3 tons. An ample reserve of stock is maintained at Sebattik, where coal is loaded by mechanical plant at a rate of about 750 tons daily, and about 4,000 tons are stocked at Sandakan, which port can now accommodate vessels drawing up to 24/25 ft. of water, the coal wharf having been extended. The British Borneo and Burmah Petroleum Syndicate have acquired, under lease, a large tract of land on the west coast in the Klias Peninsula. They have also sunk wells in the Island of Mangalum.
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