KUCHING: The Brooke Trust recently acquired Burrator House in Sheepstor, Devon and is planning to transform it into a Sarawak-centric museum in the United Kingdom (UK).
The chair of the Board of Trustees Jason Brooke revealed that the museum would make it the only one in the UK dedicated to promoting Sarawak.
He hoped works will be completed so the museum can be opened to the public by the summer of 2023.
Burrator House is a stunning 19th century house which Sir James Brooke, the first White Rajah of Sarawak called home.
“We have just taken over the property so, at the moment we got in our heads what needs to be done like getting plans and designs.
“If this is done, we can have a natural kind of bridge between Sarawak and the UK in promoting the element of heritage as well as Sarawak tourism from over there.
“I believe this will be something huge when we get it off the ground,” he told the media during an engagement session at the Brooke Gallery in Fort Margherita today.
On the response of visitors to the Brooke Gallery post COVID-19, Brooke said the gallery is starting to see a gradual increase in the number of visitors daily.
“For the past two years, it was tough for everyone including visitor attractions like museums. We are now trying to spread the message of how the gallery is now open again and welcoming visitors out there.
“At the moment, we are seeing really good numbers of visitors especially the locals coming from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia who are looking to move about as well as travel locally. While it is hard to predict the number of visitors or set a target, I think the future looks very positive and we are optimistic,” he said.
