Site for Jesselton is picked
Published on: Saturday, March 05, 2022
By:
British North Borneo Herald, Dailly Express
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Mr Henry Walker, the Commissioner of Lands, recommended a narrow strip of coastal land between Tanjung Lipat and Tanjung Aru, to be the site for a deep water port on the mainland and a terminus for a railway line.
Walker was convinced it was a good place to start a town and the present proves him right – the strip of land became Jesselton, named after Sir Charles Jessel Bart, a vice chairman of the Chartered Company. Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu) was directly opposite Gaya, an island on which a settlement was started in 1881 and by January 1884, had a population of 400.
Gaya was the Chartered Company’s administrative centre for the west coast but the island was abandoned for Jesselton. Rebel leader Mat Salleh looted and burnt Gaya to the ground in 1897.
Malaysian Scouts were
placed under one umbrella
Nov 3, 1964 (Daily Express)
The Malaysian Boy Scouts Federation (the term “Boy” was later dropped), was established, grouping the movements in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. In Sabah, the movement had its beginnings in 1913, in Sandakan. Kudat followed in 1922, Jesselton in 1923 and Lahad Datu, 1924. The first official Jamboree was at Lok Kawi in 1935. Scouting activities were halted from 1942 to 1945 due to the Second World War.
Nurse Perkins promoted
to Sister in Medical Dept
Nov 6, 1959 (North Borneo News)
Miss Josephine Perkins became the first local to be appointed as a Nursing Sister, Division III, in the Medical Department. She was then serving in Sandakan.
Perkins started as a Probationer Midwife in 1946 and was promoted to Trained Nurse in 1949. In 1953, she was sent to the West London Hospital in Britain where she obtained the qualification of State Registered Nurse in 1957.
Alliance Council was formed
Nov 6, 1962 (North Borneo News)
The 36-member Alliance National Council was formed by the Sabah Alliance Party Preparatory Committee at a meeting chaired by Mr Donald Stephens (the late Tun Fuad Stephens).
The committee also recommended the acceptance of the Pasok Momogun Party, led by Mr GS Sundang, and the Sabah Indian Congress. Also announced was the approval of a draft constitution, drawn up by a sub-committee headed by Usno president Datu Mustapha Datu Harun.
Chartered Co extended reach
Nov 5, 1884 (North Borneo Herald)
The North Borneo Chartered Company acquired land from Sipitang to Kuala Penyu from the Sultan of Brunei. This tract of land, hitherto known as the Independent Territory, was used by criminals as a refuge to be out of the North Borneo Government’s reach.
North Borneo was earlier under the rule of the Sultan of Brunei and the America Trading Company since 1850. In the 1870s, that company went bankrupt and was later sold to a German, Gustavus Baron de Overbeck, and his English partner, Alfred Dent.
Pioneering North Borneo newsman dies in Sandakan
Nov 7, 1958 (North Borneo News)
The founder of the now-defunct North Borneo News (NBN), Mr RF Vaughan died peacefully at his home at Tanah Merah, Sandakan. He was 80. Prior to the NBN in Sandakan, the closest thing to a newspaper in North Borneo was a cyclostyled Chinese daily news sheet published in Jesselton.
Charter granted
Nov 1, 1881 (North Borneo Herald)
The granting of a Royal Charter to the British North Borneo Company by the Queen of England.
East Coast Residency split in two
Nov 1, 1954 (Sabah Times)
The East Coast Residency was split into two with the re-establishment of the Tawau Residency and the set-lug up of the Sandakan Residency.
Dusing the first local appointed Sabah State Sec
Nov 6, 1964 (Daily Express)
Tambunan-born civil servant Mr John Benedict Dusing, 44, became the first local to hold the post of Sabah State Secretary. He joined the civil service in 1940 as a Rubber Inspector. After the Japanese Occupation. he was sent to Hong, Kong for training in rating and valuation, and later to Britain for a course in Public Administration. Among the posts he held prior to becoming State Secretary were Health Inspector, Tuaran Acting District Officer, Ranau’s first District Officer and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Said Keruak sworn in as fourth Chief Minister
Nov 1, 1975 (Daily Express)
Tan Sri said Keruak, 48, was sworn in as the fourth Chief Minister of Sabah, succeeding Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun. Said was the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries when Sabah achieved self-government on Aug 31, 1963, before being made Deputy Chief Minister in August, 1975.
Also sworn in before the Head of State, Datuk Mohd Hamdan Abdullah, was the new Deputy Chief Minister, Datu Haji Aliuddin Datu Harun, brother to Mustapha.
Said, after being sworn in, announced the appointment of two more Deputy Chief Ministers – Minister of Communications and Works Datuk Pang Tet Tshung and Industrial Development Minister Datuk Herman Luping.
First Ko-Nelayan settlement scheme launched
Nov 4, 1980 (Daily Express)
The opening of the first Fishermen’s Aquaculture Settlement Scheme of the Sabah Fishermen’s Multi-purpose Co-operative Bled (Ko-Nelavan), at Kamptim Nelayan Java, Semporna.
Construction of the scheme began a year earlier. Kampung Nelayan Java was launched with 50 houses, a surau, community hall, play-ground, freshwater well, boat shed, bridge and a Ko-Nelayan office.
Besides fish-breeding, the other aquaculture activities identified for this model village were in seaweed and clams.
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