 |
||
|
In the olden days, when Sungai Sarawak Kanan was the only access to Bau, it took visitors travelling by river for more than one day to reach Bau. However, today it takes less than one hour to travel by road from Kuching to Bau. Visitors who wish to go to Bau district by road have to pass through Batu Kitang Bridge, the first longest bridge in Sarawak built in the year 1966. The first kampung under Bau district is none other than the famous Kampung Lidah Tanah. It was the second capital of Sarawak founded by Datu Patinggi Ali in the early 19th century. Now Kampung Lidah Tanah consists of 106 houses with a population of 725 and the Tua Kampung is Hassan bin Ali. Visitors have to pass through, Kampung Bunga Rampai, Panchor, Tanjung Durian, Kranji and rubber gardens, cocoa trees and limestone hills before they reach the old wooden Bazaar of Siniawan. As we approach Siniawan Bazaar, visitors can see a mountain fronting their view. This is the very mountain called Gunung Serembu where Sir 'James Brooke, the first White Rajah of Sarawak used to go for relaxation and enjoyed the cool fresh air in his wooden Bungalow on the mountain top called Peninjau. Siniawan is also a historical place where Datu Patinggi Ali together with other Bidayuh Chief’s staged the famous anti-Brunei movement in 1830s. Siniawan Bazaar is the classic example of an early Sarawak Bazaar when time seems to stand still. At the moment, Siniawan Bazaar has two rolls of 48 wooden shop-houses. It has a police station and a primary school. It consists of 60 houses with a population of 307- Situated five kilometers from Siniawan, Paku Bazaar is a small bazaar with only 6 shop-houses and one Chinese primary school. This school was the earliest Chinese primary school in Bau. It was built in 1870. This was also the very place where the first Government building at Bau district was located. In the olden days, Paku or Serembu produced a lot of gold and antimony. Paku has 65 houses with a population of 396. From Paku, visitors can go to Jambusan and Buso by road although they are not actually located along Kuching/Bau Road. Jambusan, about 3 kilometers from Bau main road is a small but important settlement area in the district. There are 80 Chinese families with a population of 550 and 8 Bidayuh Kampungs with a population of 1996. The word "Jambusan" actually pronounced as "Jan-Bu-San" in Chinese/Hakka dialect and it literally means "Bird-nest Hill". It deserves its name simply because there are plenty of limestone caves around the hill which produce plenty of edible bird-nests. The two most popular bird-nest producing caves are Gua Jawang near Kampung Merembeh and Gua Puang which is just in front of Jambusan Bazaar. Jambusan was a mining settlement area in the last century. Plenty of gold and antimony had been extracted and exported. An old grave erected in 1874 near Jambusan Bazaar indicates that the area has been inhabited by the early Chinese settlers for more than 12Q years. As far as rural development is concerned, the reconstruction of the 5 kilometers Bau/Jambusan Road was completed in 1983 and the new road to Kampung Seromah was also completed in 1986. The area is provided with water supply and electricity supply. During the boom period of antimony in the early 19th century, Buso was an important trading port in Bau district. Most of the antimony was exported from Buso to Kuching, and most of the imported goods were shipped from Kuching to Bau through Buso especially during the dry weather when the water level was too low for bigger ships to pass through. Now the golden period was over and when the Kuching/Bau Road was completed in 1955, Buso Bazaar was being by-passed and the business has dropped to the lowest point. Buso Bazaar, like Siniawan Bazaar, is another classic example of the early Sarawak town where time seems to stand still. There are ten shop-houses in Buso Bazaar and most of the shopkeepers have to go to the farms in order to make up the difference which they cannot get from the poor business. After travelling through 35 kilometers of the small and winding load constructed in 1954, the first sight of Bau Town is the Landmark of Bau - the magnificent Civic Centre. This building which was built in 1988 consists of a modern Baruk or Head-house and a big hall. It reflects the cultural heritage of the Bidayuh in the district. Bau Town was born in the early 19th century when hundreds of Chinese miners came from Kalimantan Barat., Indonesia to mine gold at Bau Lama long before Sir James Brooke took over the Rajahship from Brunei authority in 1841. After the big fire in 1978 Bau Town was rebuilt and now it is a modern town with 170 shop-houses and 620 other households with a population of 3,344. Bau Town is the administrative centre of the district. It has three secondary schools, one district hospital and many other Government agencies. The town is well served by road systems and almost all the kampungs and settlements are accessible by roads. Bukit Young Goldmine, the most active gold mining company in Bau is currently producing more than 95% of the total gold production in Sarawak. There are two quarry companies which produce gravels not only for local use but also transported to Kuching and other divisions in Sarawak. There are at least another six bazaars namely Krokong, Pangkalan TeBang, Tai Ton, Bidi, Tondong and Musi in the district. Like Siniawan and Buso, the fast development of the road systems in the areas provide easier excess for the people to go to Bau and Kuching for shopping. Hence most of the above Bazaars are facing the same problems of poor business. Most of the shopkeepers in the above bazaars can hardly survive in their business unless they have sideline business or take up agricultural activities in order to make both ends meet. |
|
|
|
|
|
|