Blending well to city’s landscape, this well-thought-of bridge is popular to both residents and tourists.Īside from these, other interesting structures located at the Kuching Waterfront are the Chinese Courthouse (1912), now the Chinese History Museum Sarawak Steamship Building (1930) which is now a commercial structure Square Tower (1879), now a fine-dining restaurant and the newly-opened Floating Mosque. That side of the river and the Waterfront is linked via the Jambatan Darul Hana, a modern pedestrian bridge constructed in 2017. It is described as a modern-folk building and the main landmark not only in Kuching but in the whole of Sarawak. This imposing edifice resembles a nine-pointed star capped by a roof inspired by the Malaysian royal umbrella called payung negara. In between these two heritage structures is the impressive Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building constructed from 2004 to 2009. It now serves as the official residence of the governor of Sarawak. The fort, constructed in 1879 originally served as a guard post against pirates but never functioned as such while the Astana, built nine years earlier was a manor house gifted to Margaret by Charles Brooke when they got married. Today, 19th to the early 21st century structures form part of its rich built environment spanning the reigns of the White Rajahs until the term of chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud who served from 1981 to 2014.Īcross the river from the Waterfront are two extant late 19th century structures that form part of the Sarawak fortifications – Fort Margherita, named after Brooke’s wife Ranee Margaret and the Astana. This is part of the city’s historic center where Kuching’s old settlement was located, a riverine community of houses built of light materials. Strolling the Waterfront, a riverside linear park in Kuching is both relaxing and pleasing to the eye as the old and new mix harmoniously with the landscape pierced by the Sarawak River. School, civic, and commercial buildings follow the streamline moderne and the international architectural styles. In Kuching in particular, new constructions include a dry dock, power station, and reservoir to name a few.Ĭinemas also emerged during this period such as the Art Deco Rex and Capitol theaters. Earlier shophouses during the reign of Charles Brooke were made of wood but were replaced with bricks in the 1860s. New shophouses were also constructed of cement.
Sarawak’s built environment was largely concentrated in Kuching, it being the capital town and government center.ĭevelopments in Sarawak including Kuching during this period until its annexation to Malaysia in 1963 include the emergence of Western-style houses, construction of concrete dwellings, hospitals, and schools. Shophouses and longhouses remain in the architectural landscape as with the previous century. The modernization of Sarawak started in the early 20th century with various infrastructure projects from roads to subdivisions to the development of detached houses. These three were instrumental in the construction of the architectural landmarks that we see today in Kuching These three Brookes are known as the White Rajas of Sarawak, the leaders of the Brooke Raj or the dynasty of British rajas in pre-Malaysia Sarawak. Following the death of Charles Brooke in 1917, he was succeeded by his son Sir Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke who served until 1946. In 1863, Brooke returned to England and was replaced by his nephew Sir Charles Anthony Brooke as the raja in 1864. It was conferred to him after he helped the sultanate defeat a rebellion lodged by members of the Bidayuh and Malay indigenous groups in the late 1830s. Brooke who was a military man under the British flag and the British East India Company became the rajah of Sarawak when that title was conferred to him by the Sultan of Brunei Pengiran Mahkota in 1841 and in perpetuity in 1846. Kuching, together with the whole of Sarawak were previously under the control of the Brunei Sultanate. The port City of Kuching, located on the western coast of the Malaysian Borneo was founded by Sir James Brooke in 1839.
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