Directory_and_Chronicle_1931 — Page 1658

BRUNEI

The sovereignty of the Sultan of Brunei has been reduced to a wedge of territory of some 2,500 square miles, practically surrounded by Sarawak. With a coast line of 100 miles it embraces the Districts of Belait, Tutong, Brunei, Temburong and Labu. There is only one town of any size, Brunei or Dar-ul-Salam (city of peace), which has a population of about 12,000. The census of 1921 showed a total of 25,454 for the whole State. Of these some 1,500 were Chinese. The Europeans numbered 23 in Brunei Town. The town itself was formerly composed of houses built in the river on nibong piles. With the establishment of peace and order, however, the natives have gradually learned the advantages of cultivation and have migrated to terra firma, and all business in the town is now conducted on land. The Chinese have built some 69 stone and brick shops and houses, and all government buildings are on land.

The land may be said to slope gradually from a backbone of mountains-of which Mount Mulu, in Sarawak territory, is the largest towards the sea. It contains no noticeable peaks such as Kinabulu in British North Borneo. The bars at its river mouths and the rapids which occur within 30 miles and less of the sea prevent any but limited navigation. Launches drawing 5 or 6 feet can enter the Belait and Tutong rivers except in the monsoon season. Steamers drawing 12 feet can at all times reach Brunei Town, situated some 12 miles from the river mouth at Muara. The climate is damp and warm. The annual rainfall exceeds 100 inches. No marked changes of temperature occur, in which respect the country resembles the Malay Peninsula. The nights are cool.

The road from Brunci Town to Tutong (30 miles) was opened to through traffic in 1927 and a rapid expansion of development has already resulted. An extension was made from Tutong Village to the beach, and five wooden bridges were erected near the mouths of the main streams situate between the Tutong and Belait Rivers. They have made it possible to travel by motor car along the sandy beach from Kuala Tutong to Kuala Belait, the headquarters of the British Malayan Petroleum Company, Limited.

A wireless telegraphic_installation of the most modern type was opened in 1921, with a central station at Brunei and subsidiary stations at Labuan and in each of the districts. It places every part of Brunei in telegraphic communication with Singapore and Europe.

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Petty wars, head-hunting raids, and the jealousy of the numerous chiefs, coupled with the existence of slavery, rendered agriculture impossible in the past. Since the appointment of a resident British official, the common people have shown eagerness to take up land and plant coconuts. The rivers are fringed with the nipah palm; forests of the interior abound in rattans; there are large areas of the sago palm, which is worked by the natives and sold to Chinese traders for export to the Singapore market. The wild rubber tree, Jelutong (dyera costulata), is common, and is worked for export. There are 4 European companies operating rubber estates. At Brunei Town, the Island Trading Company, Ltd., has its cutch factory, employing several hundreds of hands. The value of cutch exported in 1929 was $183,583, compared with $179,104 in 1928.

In 1914, payable oil was found for the first time in the District of Belait, at a depth of 1,820 ft. At first the flow was 25 tons daily, but a week's pumping test reduced this to an average of six tons. The British Malayan Petroleum Co., Ltd., has now obtained a lease of this area and is conducting extensive operations. The prospects are promi- sing, and are even brighter still in the area along the sea-shore at Kuala Belait where the same Company is carrying on prospecting and where good "shows" of oil have already been located.

Native industries are few. Brunei silver-work and brass-ware enjoys a certain vogue, and would be appreciated if it could be expeditiously put on the market. The women also weave silk cloths and sarongs.