Harry Keith
Encyclopedia
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
(now Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
). In 1984 a new species of Rafflesia
Rafflesia
Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. It contains approximately 28 species , all found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand and the Philippines.Rafflesia was found in the Indonesian rain forest by an Indonesian guide working for Dr...
endemic to Sabah, Rafflesia keithii
Rafflesia keithii
Rafflesia keithii is a parasitic flowering plant in the genus Rafflesia endemic to Sabah in Borneo. The flowers can grow up to one metre in diameter. It is named after Henry George Keith, former Conservator of Forests in North Borneo .-External links:*...
, was named in his honour. Keith was the husband of author Agnes Newton Keith
Agnes Newton Keith
Agnes Jones Goodwillie Newton Keith was an American author best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo before, during, and after the Second World War...
.
Life
Keith was born in New PlymouthNew Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
, New Zealand, to English parents and grew up there, before being sent abroad to be schooled in England and then in California, United States. Keith served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in the First World War, and then took a degree at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
(B.Sc. 1924).
In 1925, Keith was appointed the Assistant Conservator of Forests for the government of North Borneo (now Sabah) under the Chartered Company
British North Borneo Company
The North Borneo Chartered Company or British North Borneo Company was a chartered company assigned to administer North Borneo in August 1881. North Borneo became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs administered by the company until 1946 when it became the colony of British...
, based at Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
, and was promoted to Conservator of Forests in 1931, and later again to Director of Agriculture and Wildlife. He was also Honorary Curator of the Sandakan Museum.
In 1934 Keith married Agnes Newton Keith
Agnes Newton Keith
Agnes Jones Goodwillie Newton Keith was an American author best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo before, during, and after the Second World War...
(1901-1982), an American who was later to become a celebrated writer. Keith had been a friend of Agnes’ brother Al when both boys had been at the same school in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. Keith had first met Agnes when she was eight years old and he was two years older. Keith had not seen Agnes in ten years when he visited California while on leave in 1934. As soon as they re-met they fell in love, and married three days later, and Agnes accompanied him to North Borneo.
During the Japanese occupation of Borneo in World War II Keith was imprisoned at Berhala Island
Berhala Island, Sabah
Berhala Island is a small forested island situated in Sandakan Bay in Sandakan, Sabah, East Malaysia.The island is approximately 5 hectares in size and has prominent cliffs at its northern end...
near Sandakan and then in Batu Lintang internment and POW camp
Batu Lintang camp
Batu Lintang camp at Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo was a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War. It was unusual in that it housed both Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees...
near Kuching in 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...
, as were Agnes and their infant son George. Agnes later wrote a book on their wartime experiences, Three Came Home
Three Came Home
Three Came Home is a post-war film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, based on the memoirs of the same name by writer Agnes Newton Keith. It depicts Keith's life in North Borneo in the period immediately before the Japanese invasion in 1942, and her subsequent internment and suffering, separated from...
, which was also made into a film.
After a short period of recuperation in Canada, Keith resumed his position as head of the Department of Agriculture in British North Borneo (1946-1952). Keith is credited with starting the process of large-scale conservation of North Borneo's forests. In 1931 the Forestry Department, under Keith's guidance, aimed to have at least 10% of the total land area of North Borneo created as Forest Reserves (the total in 1930 was 0.37%); after the interruption of World War II Keith observed that the Forestry Department’s management of forest resources was one of ‘exploitation’ rather than ‘sustained yield’ and so in 1948, the ‘sustained yield’ Forest Policy was officially adopted by the Government, while also reaffirming the 10% aim. By 1984, some 45.4% of Sabah's land was designated a Forest Reserve.
After formal retirement from service in British North Borneo in 1952, Keith held several temporary appointments. In 1953 he joined the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, and was posted to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
as instructor at the Timber Graders School in Manila.
In 1955 Keith became FAO Representative at Benghazi in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, and served six years as forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
adviser in the country. He finally retired in 1964.
Throughout his career Keith collected plants for scientific study. His collections are now housed in the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
and Kew Gardens in London, the Herbarium Bogoriense at Bogor Botanical Gardens
Bogor Botanical Gardens
The Bogor Botanical Gardens are located 60 km south of the capital of Jakarta in Bogor, Indonesia. The botanical gardens are situated in the city center of Bogor and adjoin the Istana Bogor...
in Indonesia, and the Herbarium of the Forest Department at Sandakan, Sabah.
All but one of his wife Agnes’ books are autobiographical and detail the family’s life in the various countries in which they lived. Keith and Agnes retired to British Columbia, where they died within a few months of each other in 1982.
In 1984 a new species of Rafflesia
Rafflesia
Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. It contains approximately 28 species , all found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand and the Philippines.Rafflesia was found in the Indonesian rain forest by an Indonesian guide working for Dr...
endemic to Sabah, Rafflesia keithii
Rafflesia keithii
Rafflesia keithii is a parasitic flowering plant in the genus Rafflesia endemic to Sabah in Borneo. The flowers can grow up to one metre in diameter. It is named after Henry George Keith, former Conservator of Forests in North Borneo .-External links:*...
, was named in Keith's honour. This parasitic plant
Parasitic plant
A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known. Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and connects to the xylem, phloem, or...
is the largest Rafflesia found in Sabah, with flowers reaching up to one metre in diameter. In addition, Dryobalanops keithii
Dryobalanops keithii
Dryobalanops keithii is a species of plant in the Dipterocarpaceae family. The species is named after H.G. Keith, 1899-1982, a Conservator of Forests in North Borneo . This species is endemic to Borneo, where it is threatened due to habitat loss...
, a heavy hardwood tree, and Randia keithii, a shrub or small tree in the genus Randia
Randia (plant)
Randia, commonly known as indigoberry, is a mostly neotropical genus of shrubs or small trees in the Rubiaceae. The International Plant Names Index lists a total of 738 names for the genus, synonyms included. Several Australian species have been reassigned to the genus Atractocarpus. These include...
were also named after Keith.
Newlands
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
, but the couple soon relocated to a government building on a hilltop. They lived there until they were interned in 1942. After the war the Keiths returned to Sandakan to find the house destroyed. They built a new house in 1946-1947 on the original footprint and in a similar style to the original. They named this house Newlands and lived there until they left Sabah in 1952. After nearly fifty years of gradual deterioration, first under tenants and then as an empty shell, the house was restored by Sabah Museum
Sabah Museum
The Sabah Museum is the state Museum of Sabah, Malaysia. It is sited on 17 ha of land at Bukit Istana Lama in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital. The complex contains not only the museum proper, but also an ethnobotanic garden, a zoo and a heritage village. The main building also houses the Sabah...
in collaboration with the Federal Department of Museums and Antiquities in 2001. The house is a rare survival of post-war colonial wooden architecture. It was opened to the public in 2004 and is a popular tourist attraction. It contains displays on Agnes and Harry Keith as well as information about colonial life in Sandakan in the first half of the twentieth century, and is commonly referred to as the Agnes Keith House.
The Keiths' library
Both Agnes and Harry Keith were ardent bibliophiles. Following their deaths, their collection of books and documents on Borneo and South East Asia was auctioned in 2002. The collection numbered over 1,000 volumes, and had been gathered over many years. Agnes wrote of the collection, which they were forced to abandon to the occupying Japanese forces, in Three Came Home: "Harry's library of Borneo books, perhaps the most complete in existence, his one self-indulgence...". The auction press release commented that "Many of these items are not listed in any institutional holdings, including the British LibraryBritish Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, and may well be the only surviving extant copies".
Selected publications by Keith
- 1928 "Description of a native oil press (chandasan) from North Borneo" Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic SocietyJournal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic SocietyThe Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society is a scholarly journal published by the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society or MBRAS. The journal covers topics of historical interest concerning peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan and Singapore...
(JMBRAS) 6(3): 96–97 - 1935 Forestry in the State of North Borneo
- 1936 "A few Ulun-no-Bokan (Murut) taboos" JMBRAS 14(3): 327–329
- 1936 "Some Ulun-no-Bokan (Murut) charms" JMBRAS 14(3): 330
- 1936 "Some Ulun-no-Bokan (Murut) words from North Borneo" JMBRAS 14(3): 314–322
- 1936 "Ulun-no-Bokun (Murut) folklore" JMBRAS 14(3): 323–326
- 1938 A Preliminary List of North Borneo Plant Names North Borneo Forest Records, no. 2 (reprinted 1947; 2nd edition 1952, reprinted 1964). Hong Kong: Ye Olde Printerie
- 1938 "Keris measurements from North Borneo" JMBRAS 16(1): 134–136
- 1947 The Timber of North Borneo North Borneo Forest Records, no. 3. Hong Kong: Published by permission of the Government of the Colony of North Borneo, printed by Ye Olde Printerie
- 1947 "Megalithic Remains in North Borneo" JMBRAS 20(1): 153-5
- 1980 The United States Consul and the Yankee Raja Brunei Museum JournalBrunei Museum JournalBrunei Museum Journal is an academic journal, published annually by the Brunei Museum. Its first volume was produced in 1969.The journal is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge of Brunei Darussalam, Borneo, and Southeast Asia...
Monograph 4