Kuching as the Capital of the Brooke Administration

Kuching as the Capital of the Brooke Administration

Downtown Kuching as seen from Fort Margherita

Sir James Brooke, the first Rajah of Sarawak.

Sarawak was a part of the Sultanate of Brunei before it was ceded to British adventurer James Brooke, who ruled it as his personal kingdom, on September 24, 1841, although the official declaration was not made until August 18, 1842, as a reward for helping in bringing about a peaceful settlement facing Bidayuh uprising against the Sultan of Brunei. This marked an onset of three generations of the Brooke family rule.

Kuching became the seat of the Brooke government and underwent remarkable changes. As the administrative capital, it was the focus of attention and development. Some of the first things James Brooke did was to introduce a code of laws and build his residence on a site at the northern bank of the Sarawak River, next to the present-day Astana (Palace), which is now the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak.

Under James Brooke, piracy and headhunting were abetted and law and order enforced. However, Kuching remained cramped and lacking in facilities. It was not until 1868 when Charles Brooke became the Second Rajah that greater efforts were made to upgrade the town. Drainage was improved, new buildings and streets sprang up and old shophouses were replaced with brick ones. In fact, most of Kuching from the town centre and its outlying areas was rebuilt after the great fire in 1884.

The Brooke Administration was given the status of Protectorate under Rajah Charles Brooke's rule and was placed behind the Indian Rajas and Princes. By the end of the Charles Brooke rule, Kuching had grown from a small ramshackle place into a town with attractive Victorian-styled design Government buildings and telecommunication service. Sampans (small boats) and trains were the primary mode of transport. There were even sports and entertainment facilities such as a race course and a clubhouse; complete with a bar, billiard tables and bowling alleys.

Kuching continued to prosper under Charles Vyner Brooke, who succeeded his father as the Third Rajah of Sarawak. In 1941, Kuching became the venue of the Brooke Government Centenary Celebration. A few months later, the Brooke administration came to a close when the Japanese occupied Sarawak.

Kuching was surrendered to the Japanese forces on December 24, 1941, and Sarawak was part of the Japanese Imperial Empire for three years and eight months, until the official Japanese surrender on September 11, 1945, on board HMAS Kapunda at Kuching. From March 1942, the Japanese operated a POW and civilian internee Batu Lintang camp, three miles (5 km) outside Kuching.^[12]

After the end of World War II the third and last Rajah, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946. Kuching was revitalised as the capital of Sarawak under the British Colonial Government. When Sarawak, together with Northern Borneo, Singapore and the Federation of Malaya, formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, Kuching was maintained as the State Capital. The town experienced rapid development, resulting in its incorporation as a City in 1988.