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Sarawak
Museum At Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg - Starpic
Picture
is courtesy of the The Star
This
Kuching landmark is the finest museum in Southeast Asia. For
over a century, a succession of conscientious curators have
collected and catalogued the single most extensive archive
and exhibit of Bornean history, art and ethnography anywhere
in the world.
As
the most prominent repository of Bornean culture, the
Sarawak Museum is also an active patron of wide-ranging
academic research. The excavations at Niah Caves, which
unearthed the oldest known evidence of human settlement in
Borneo, were conducted under the auspices of the Sarawak
Museum. A reconstruction of the prehistoric settlement at
Niah Cave is on permanent display. Other notable exhibits
include the history of Sarawak, a reconstruction of native
longhouses, tribal art, Malay and Chinese artifacts, and
local flora and fauna. Behind the Sarawak Museum there is an
aquarium, and a picturesque landscaped garden.
There
is a curious story behind the design of the Museum. It was
commissioned by the second White Rajah, Charles Brooke, and
resembles a Normandy town house. The Rajah, however,
distrusted architects. The Museum was eventually designed by
the Rajah's butler - a native of Normandy! Completed
in 1891, the Museum was extended in 1911. But the number of
exhibits continued to grow. Another extension, across the
road from the original museum site and connected by a
footbridge, was built in the 1970s. After
visiting the new wing across the road, wander around the
museum grounds and proceed to the Sarawak Islamic
Museum. Admission
is free |