KUCHING: Today, Bau celebrates the 200th anniversary of its vibrant and rich gold mining history.
Gold mining is believed to have commenced two centuries ago in the 1820’s, driven by Chinese miners and the local Bidayuh and Malay communities.
Although there are still companies holding valid mining leases, there is a lack of large-scale gold mining operations these days.
From its early years as a small town revolving around gold and resource mining, Bau has since developed into an area flourishing with ecotourism potential and growth.
The area offers various popular tourist attractions including the Blue Lake, Fairy Cave, Wind Cave, Siniawan Night Market, Serikin Border Market, Catholic Memorial Pilgrimage Centre at Mount Singai and more.
With the Blueprint for Bau District 2016-2030 launched in December last year, Bau is expected to undergo even more comprehensive development in infrastructure, housing and real estate, tourism, agriculture, industrialisation, and so on.
Nevertheless, as the district progresses, it is important to remember and reflect upon Bau’s rich history.
Five phases of Bau gold mine settlement
Sehati Research Institute director Dr Voon Jan Cham said that prior to the advent of goldminers to Bau and establishment of a new settlement with its Twelve Kongsi, led by nationalist Liu Shan Bang, the Malays were thriving, especially around Lidah Tanah where the earliest nationalist Datuk Patinggi Ali in the 1830’s made it the capital and the Land Dayaks dwelled for a few hundred years with renowned nationalist Panglima Kulow (1841) around the Bau area.
“Gold mining principally brought these three races together economically and mooted the beginning of multiculturalism as they co-existed for the last 200 years in Bau,” he said.
Presenting his talk at a symposium on the 200-year history of gold mining in Bau District at Grand Margherita Hotel here on Dec 15, Voon said the Bau gold mine settlement had undergone five phases of formation and transformation since the 1820’s.
Of these, the first three phases which saw the rise and fall of the booming gold mining era spanned 100 years up until 1920.
“It is during this period that multi-ethnic nationalism arose and multiculturalism took root. The major races, namely the Bidayuh, Malay and Chinese, shared their lives together and took part in the fight for freedom and economic prosperity,” he said.
Voon said that with the influx of Chinese settlers or coolies, economic activities in the gold mines increased while mercury and antimony were significant exports which benefitted the Sarawak proper.
He said more gold mines were opened and modernised under the Brookes, coming to peak around the 1920’s.
“The Chinese settlers continued to pour in and worked in small gold mines while oil gradually took over as the chief export despite the aftermath of freedom fighting by the Chinese miners in 1857,” he said.
Voon said that following the Great Depression which occurred from 1929 to 1939, gold once again became a vital export of Bau, benefitting the Brookes and the people of Sarawak.
“The ensuing years also saw advancements in a very moderate way as gold was fast depleting under the Crown Colony after 1946,” he said.
He explained that the last two phases, which took place when Malaysia was formed in the 1960’s, spanned another century and witnessed the less important production of gold from the settlement.
Voon said gold was replaced by oil produced elsewhere although other minerals from the Bau settlement still remained significant.
“The history of the Bau settlement entered a controversial discourse when the role of nationalists and the economic development became critical issues in nation-building,” he said.
He added that ecotourism then expanded with historical heritage such as gold routes, gold mines, trails and numerous natural landscapes such as the development of caves into tourism products.
He said the greater potentiality of Bau mining district, such as the Bau Gold Mine Museum and Park and Bau Gold Project, indicated Bau’s bright future and would ensure the prosperity of its people.
“Sarawak will be reminded of the three recurring issues connected to the history of Bau gold mine settlement, namely Bau as the birthplace of Sarawak nationalists; the model of multiracial excellence; and the socioeconomic achievements of the people of Bau and Sarawak as a whole,” he said.
Voon pointed out that the Bau gold mine settlement and its contributions had endured the test of time and would continue to inspire future generations.
“Now we want to teach each other, particularly the younger generation, about the history of Bau over the last 200 years,” he said.
Bau Gold Mine Museum and Park
One of the components proposed under the Blueprint for Bau District 2016-2030 is the Bau Gold Mine Museum and Park.
Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep said that the completion of such museum would draw more visitors to Bau while also educating them on the gold mining history of the area.
He said the feasibility study on the construction of the proposed Bau Gold Mine Museum and Park was expected to be completed in two to three months’ time, upon which the state government would evaluate if it was worth constructing.
“The state government is serious about this matter — it has provided an allocation of RM1.5 million for conducting the research,” Henry told a symposium on the 200-year history of gold mining in Bau District at Grand Margherita Hotel here on Dec 15.
The project is expected to cost an estimated RM26 million, but the confirmed final figure would only be known upon the completion of the study.
