Bau, Sarawak
Encyclopedia
Bau is a gold mining
town in the Kuching Division
of Sarawak
, Malaysia. Smuggling with Kalimantan is also important to the local economy.
On May 1, 1837, the Skrang Ibans
invaded the Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh settlement on top of Bratak Peak, killing over 2,000 Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh men and taking 1,000 women captive. Panglima Kulow, head of Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh community, and a handful of his followers survived the massacre. In 1841 Sir James Brooke
, who was then the newly-installed White Rajah of Sarawak, was able to rescue some of the women taken captives. Each year on May 1, descendants of the survivors of the 1837 massacre hold Jagoi-Bratak Day on top of Bratak Peak in Bau in memory of their ancestors. A memorial stone was erected on May 1, 1988, to mark the day.
. After the Chinese uprising in 1857, the mining operations were gradually taken over by The Borneo Company with the last Chinese syndicate being bought out in 1884. In 1898, The Borneo Company introduced the cyanide process for extracting the gold, which led to increased environmental pollution. The mines were closed in 1921 because most of the easily reachable minerals had been removed. But during the Great Depression
Chinese miners continued to work the mines. The mines were reopened in the late 1970s when world gold prices soared, but closed again in 1997 when the Asian financial crisis started. However by 2002, Preston Resources began developing the mining operations formerly held by Malaysia's Oriental Peninsula Gold. In 2006, Zedex Minerals purchased the controlling interest.
cliffs in the area support a wide range of endemic
flora
, including the rare pitcher plant
Nepenthes northiana
.
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
town in the Kuching Division
Kuching Division
Kuching Division is one of the eleven administrative divisions in Sarawak, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. Formerly called the "First Division", it is the center and the starting point of modern Sarawak...
of Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, Malaysia. Smuggling with Kalimantan is also important to the local economy.
History
Iban people
The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and...
invaded the Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh settlement on top of Bratak Peak, killing over 2,000 Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh men and taking 1,000 women captive. Panglima Kulow, head of Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh community, and a handful of his followers survived the massacre. In 1841 Sir James Brooke
James Brooke
James, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
, who was then the newly-installed White Rajah of Sarawak, was able to rescue some of the women taken captives. Each year on May 1, descendants of the survivors of the 1837 massacre hold Jagoi-Bratak Day on top of Bratak Peak in Bau in memory of their ancestors. A memorial stone was erected on May 1, 1988, to mark the day.
Gold mining
Gold began being mined in Bau in the 1840s. It was discovered by Chinese miners from Pangkalan TebangPangkalan Tebang
Pangkalan Tebang is a former gold mining town in the Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia.Gold was mined at Pangkalan Tebang since the early 19th century by Chinese miners....
. After the Chinese uprising in 1857, the mining operations were gradually taken over by The Borneo Company with the last Chinese syndicate being bought out in 1884. In 1898, The Borneo Company introduced the cyanide process for extracting the gold, which led to increased environmental pollution. The mines were closed in 1921 because most of the easily reachable minerals had been removed. But during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
Chinese miners continued to work the mines. The mines were reopened in the late 1970s when world gold prices soared, but closed again in 1997 when the Asian financial crisis started. However by 2002, Preston Resources began developing the mining operations formerly held by Malaysia's Oriental Peninsula Gold. In 2006, Zedex Minerals purchased the controlling interest.
Ecology
The limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cliffs in the area support a wide range of endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
, including the rare pitcher plant
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
Nepenthes northiana
Nepenthes northiana
Nepenthes northiana , or Miss North's Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo, where it grows at elevations ranging from 0 to 500 m above sea level. The specific epithet northiana honours Marianne North, who first illustrated the species...
.